Winter Solstice Chapter 1 and 2
by Altheas
Summary: Crystalandra and Argo join Tygra, Rangerkitty, Galina, and Bengali on a three day vacation at the ThunderCats' winter Chalet on Third Earth. Can the ThunderCats survive through jealousies, arguments, and fights between them? Or will this put a damper on their friendship? Please read and enjoy! Another story by the authors Rangerkitty and Chrystalandra/Atheas.
1. Chapter 1

5

Winter Solstice

featuring

The ThunderCats

An adventure/comedy by Rangerkitty and Crystalandra

**Chapter One**

Snow was gently falling onto the plains of Third Earth. The snowflakes were fluffy and huge, and there was no wind to

displace them. It was the kind of snowfall that made it nice to have snow. It was soft, calm, comforting; in a way it was like

someone up above was gently laying a soft quilt over the quiet land below. Cat's Lair was part of this dusting, and enjoyed

its share of the sparkling crystals that fell upon it from the heavens.

Inside of one of the bedrooms, with its window raised open wide, Galina awoke and stretched in response to the feel and

smell of the snow. She loved the smell of ice and snow, and had felt it coming. Glad it was here, she arched her back as she

stretched out and turned her head both ways, stretching and cracking the bones in her neck. Gently, she kicked her bed

partner in the foot and he rustled too, not fully becoming awake.

She slipped out of bed and made her way to the window, where she found a light sprinkling of white frozen dust

accumulating. She gathered some and brought it back to her lover who remained unconscious under the bed sheets.

Holding it under his nose, she waited a few moments as he began to register the familiar scent. His blue eyes flashed open

finally and he looked at her in excited surprise.

"It's snowing!"

"Yes, it is!" she grinned, smearing the snow in his face which he happily licked up and then grabbed her and flipped her back onto the bed for a kiss.

Tygra had just finished his tour of overnight watch duty and was exhausted. He'd seen the snow start to fall and had

activated the heating sensors on the cat's eyes and on all the lair's windows and mirrors so nothing would freeze up and so

they would never have an unrestricted view.

He was making his way back to his room when he remembered Rangerkitty and what she did on the first snowfall of each

year, no matter how big or how small. He turned in the corridor and ran back to where he had come from. Figuring she

might be in the hangar or on the front steps, he headed there, and found her just outside the main entrance to Cat's Lair.

She was standing alone, solemn, yet peaceful. She was watching the snowflakes fall over the jungles and forests that lay

just before the place they called home. Slowly he approached her and slipped both hands around her waist as he hugged

her shoulder and neck with his chin. Saying nothing, he knew what she was doing. She did it every year, and he was usually

never present, so while this time he was, he was not about to try and take center stage.

She acknowledged Tygra with a squeeze of her hand on his forearm and looked back up to the falling crystals, falling like

glitter in the blue morning light. "Good morning Father. I love you too."

**Chapter Two**

Knowing that they might be pressed for time, Galina hurried downstairs with Bengali following close at her heels. She had

made a bet with Snarf that it would snow today, and he swore that his old bones would have felt a storm coming and that

she had been mistaken. She had offered to wager a bet on it, and she'd offered a week's worth of dishwashing detail. This

had intrigued him, and in return he offered that he would make buttermilk pancakes if it did actually snow by first light.

Galina had tried to keep her facial expression as normal as possible, but had shaken hands with him and turned her back on

the smallest ThunderCat, hiding the smug expression she couldn't help but to have on her face. She could sense weather l

ike it was nobody's business, and she was never wrong.

Smelling butter and what promised to be fluffy and rich pancakes, she had shaken Bengali awake. She was amazed that he

had reacted to the snow and not to the delicious and mouth-watering aroma of breakfast, but he had responded to her,

and that was all that mattered as far as she was concerned.

He hurried after her and looked quickly at the time piece he wore on his wrist glad that Snarf had started early and that

Galina had been expecting this, he had just enough time to enjoy breakfast before leaving to pick up the Sh'iar couple.

Argo leaned over Crys gently nipping her neck. "Wake up sleepy head we've got a shuttle to catch for Third Earth."

She yawned and giggled feeling his hot breath against her fur, "Is it morning already?" Crys sighed happily wrapping her

arms around the Tiglon's thick neck. "I still have a few things that I want to pack."

"Forget about it—it's all done and anything that you need we can always buy from the Berbil village." He kissed her warmly enjoying the taste of her lips. _Oh heavenly bliss…_Argo sighed. "Get up Marozi…Don't tempt me."

She pushed away and sat up; the big Tiglon stood smiling down at her.

"You're dressed and oh so sexy I must say!" Crys declared giving her man the once over. Argo was wearing a tight fitted sweater over straight leg jeans and looked like he had just stepped out of the cover of 'He-cat Quarterly'!

"Dressed and had a light breakfast…"

"I do question your use of the word, 'light'." The she-cat chuckled. "I'm guessing you had a couple of steaks."

The Tiglon pulled off the blankets, "Come on love—I'm anxious to make a move to see Tygra and Rangerkitty."

Crys scooted out of bed. "All right—all right! Geez Argo it has only been a couple of months since we last saw them at our wedding." She rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower while Argo laid out her clothing. He selected a purple cashmere sweater and black leggings for her to wear.

"Yes, I know but it will be nice to see them all the same."

"Hmmmm and don't forget Bengali and Galina too." The hybrid added emerging from the shower. "Argo, have you ever seen snow?"

"Not really…It will be quite an experience for us both don't you think?" After much thought, he put on another sweater over the one he was already wearing; Crys covered her mouth giggling. "Don't you think you're overdoing it with the clothes?"

"I don't think so…Tygra said that it gets pretty chilly at this time of year on Third Earth."

"Well it's a good thing we don't have that problem on Tymperia where the weather is always warm and tropical."

"Amen to that." Argo agreed.

"Come on come on Ben get a crack on it!" Galina called. "Their shuttle should be arriving any minute and I want to surprise them at the space port!"

"Why couldn't Rangerkitty come with us?" The white tiger demanded climbing into the car.

"This will be a surprise for her too! Now quit stalling; let's get going!" Galina grinned to herself because she wanted to be

the first to see the Tiglon before RK did and have the opportunity to bask in his gorgeousness! But of course she would

never openly confess this to Bengali—she settled back in her seat grinning. However, unknown to Galina, Ben was secretlyl

looking forward to seeing Crystalandra and hoped that her aloof mannerism would change towards him. He remembered

how beautiful she had looked at her wedding and unconsciously rubbed his side from the severe elbowing he had received

from Galina all because he had ogled the hybrid. Well his reasoning had been simple-if Gali could drool over Argo why

couldn't he over Crys?

"Something wrong?" The white tigress asked noticing his silence.

"Nah—everything is fine. Why do you ask?"

"Let me put your mind at ease Benny...I promise not to touch Argo…If I do I know Crystalandra would personally snuff out my lights. However there is nothing that says I can't look."

Bengali frowned. "Actually, I beg to differ because you have me now."

"Of course I do—I'm only joking!" Gali hugged her mate and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. "I do so love you very much Ben!"

"I love you too Gali…"

"Let's just have a good time, let our hair down, and relax! This is going to be a wonderful get together!"

Galina and Bengali arrived at the spaceport and found a place to park fairly nearby the entrance to the arriving flights. She

stepped out of the vehicle and fluffed her hair as the snow sprinkled around her. She had not bothered to change as it was

only just below freezing and the snow was not coming down heavily yet. Bengali got out of the transport and shut the door

as he looked her over. He grinned at the fact that she still wore her gladiator sandals, short skirt and short sleeveless top,

even in this weather. He chuckled to himself. Overhearing him, she looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

He shook his head. "I'm just thinking how you're going to astound Argo and Crys with your tolerance to the cold. I doubt they are going to be as thrilled with this weather as we are."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled her brilliant white smile at him. "Well considering where we are taking them for this trip, I hope they get used to the cold! It's not going to be warm where we are going."

He smiled back and approached her, slipping his hands around her bare waist and pulled her closer to him. "So tell me my dear, are your nipples getting hard yet?"

She reached up and pinched his, causing him to yelp and jump. "Yeowch!"

Giggling she started walking towards the entrance to the building, and he hurried after her. Before them on a computerized

screen was the listing of all the arriving and departing flights, and Galina scanned the board looking for the shuttle from

Tymperia. Bengali came up behind her and pointed to the lower right side of the board. "There it is. They should be arriving at the gate as we speak."

She beamed in excitement and grabbed his hand as they hurried to gate number eleven.


	2. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Rangerkitty and Tygra entered the kitchen to find Snarf busying himself with the griddle. Looking at the mess on the counter, it was obvious that he had been at work for some time now.

"Snarf, everything okay?" Tygra inquired.

He jumped at the unexpected voice behind him and grabbed the stool he was perched upon to avoid falling off. Steadying himself he turned around to see who had come into his kitchen. Seeing the two tigers, he grinned and wiped his brow. "Good morning…Ready for some pancakes?"

Rangerkitty blinked in surprise and smiled. "Wow! What a wonderful surprise! What's the occasion?"

Snarf shrugged and turned. "Why don't we just say it's in honour of the first snowfall?"

They nodded and inhaled the delicious smells of buttermilk and citrus. Snarf had also made fresh burble fruit juice, and the rinds of the fruit still remained on one of the counters. As Snarf poured fresh batter onto the grill, RK and Tygra helped clean off the counters to save him time later when it came time to tidy up.

"I can't believe Galina hasn't woken up yet, pancakes are her absolute favourite." Rangerkitty mused.

"Oh she was here already." Snarf informed her, not turning away from what he was doing. "She and Bengali already left for the spaceport."

The tigress turned suddenly, confused. "The spaceport? Why would they go there?"

Startled by her exclamation, Snarf cringed, wondering if he had given something away. Feeling her eyes on the back of him, he tried to act nonchalant and flipped the flapjacks over to brown the other side.

"Er, they didn't say."

Rangerkitty looked at Tygra. "Are they going away together? I thought they were going to spend time with us this weekend at the mountain lodge."

He shook his head. "I have no idea. I thought so too, but perhaps they ran off on a last minute romantic getaway."

Her shoulders slumped slightly as she lost her smile. "I thought that's what this weekend was going to be. I was really looking forward to this."

Tygra crossed the kitchen to his red haired fiancé. "My love, we are still going to have an amazing time, even if it's just you and me. We don't know what's happening yet, so please don't let this get you down and destroy your good mood." He kissed her forehead as Snarf announced that breakfast was ready. She smiled at her handsome tiger and followed him to the breakfast table, carrying the pitcher of fresh burble fruit juice with them.

Galina was excitedly bouncing on her heels beside Bengali anxious to see the Sh'iar couple exit through the gate. There were a lot of passengers disembarking from the shuttle that had arrived from Tymperia.

"Where are they? Do you see them yet? They couldn't have possibly missed the flight!" She wailed curling her fingers through her mane.

Ben chuckled. "I highly doubt it…Argo is not one to let anyone down." He suddenly pointed. "And speaking of the devil isn't that them coming over there?"

Gali looked to where he pointed and sure enough there were the Sh'iar couple strolling towards them. She had to stifle a laugh seeing how overdressed they were for the weather on Third Earth. The Tiglon waved at the white tigers; he stopped apparently whispering something to Crys which made her smile.

"ARGO and CRYSTALANDRA!" Galina gleefully shouted rushing over to them. "You made it!" She hugged Crys, grinned up at Argo, and then crossed her arms critically inspecting the pair up and down. They were wearing heavily insulated hooded parkas, thick gloves, scarves, and boots from their attire they were ready for the deepest Arctic snow!

"Um, I think you may have overdone it a bit with the winter accessories." Galina said with a smile.

"Aren't you a tad bit under dressed?" Crys countered eyeing the tigress; she loosened the scarf from around her throat so she could speak. "It's freezing outside and your midriff is bare? Are you nuts?"

"Oh the weather is perfect!" She sighed happily. "And besides I'm used to this!"

"I can see that." Argo chuckled removing his gloves to shake Ben's hand. "Hey Bengali it's good to see you! I take it Galina here is keeping you on your toes."

Ben grinned grasping the huge hybrid's hand. "I suppose you could say that. How was your trip?"

"Cramped!" Argo complained. "I wish they would make the shuttle seats bigger to accommodate someone of my size and stature."

"There is a simple solution for that." Crys replied. "Stop bulking up." And she kissed him on the cheek as he playfully scowled at her.

Galina laughed. "No Crys…please don't discourage him I beg of you!" The thought of the Tiglon losing his fine physique didn't sit well with the tigress at all—oh no!

"Where's your luggage?" Bengali asked changing the topic of the conversation. "Don't tell me that's all you brought with you? Just these bags you are carrying?"

"If we need anything we'll get it at the Berbil village." Argo informed the pair while following them out of the space port towards the awaiting car. "If I had encouraged Crys to pack more we wouldn't have made it on time."

The she-cat stuck her tongue out at her mate. "Men! I swear you have no patience whatsoever!"

Galina nodded in agreement. "You get no argument from me there. I agree wholeheartedly with you…You know it's really great to see you both again."

"It's wonderful seeing you too…" Crys stopped in her tracks as she stepped outside the glass doors. Her eyes grew round as saucers at the sight of the snow piling up on the ground. "Is that white stuff snow?"

"It sure is!" Bengali picked up a handful of the stuff and blew it at the she-cat making her jump back against Argo. He laughed out loud. "It's harmless! It won't hurt you!"

The Tiglon gave an involuntary shudder. "It looks cold…I hope this mountain retreat has plenty of heating."

"It does but I'm rather surprised by your reactions." Galina tilted her head. "I mean you Sh'iar warriors are not afraid of anything yet something as simple as snow has you two cowering."

"It's not that." Argo answered. "As Sh'iar warriors we are tolerant of most anything but the cold…We cats are more suited to the tropical weather—the hotter the better."

Crys nodded. "Anyway can we discuss this in the comfort of the warm car? I'm cold!"

"Sorry guys." Ben apologized and ushered them inside the vehicle.

"Tygra and Rangerkitty have no idea that we are here do they?" The Tiglon inquired squeezing into the back seat.

"None at all!" Galina giggled. "Boy will they be surprised to see you!"

Argo took hold of Crys' hand giving it a loving squeeze; his nose was pressed up against the window watching the white scenery flash by as they headed towards the Cat's Liar.

"How much snow normally falls during this time of year?" He asked the tiger couple; Bengali turned slightly in his seat to address the Tiglon. "This is just a slight dusting which can get anywhere to as much as 4 cm of snow. Up at the mountain cabin where we will be staying it's not uncommon to see 25cm of snow on the ground."

Crys shuddered. "That much huh?"

"Oh come on Crystalandra I guarantee you…you'll have fun! There is so much to do in the snow." Galina gushed.

"If you say so…" She didn't sound convinced; Argo raised her hand to his lips kissing it. "I'll make certain that you enjoy yourself." He assured her with a mischievous curve to his lips. "Think of this as our honeymoon."

"Okay…" Crys giggled. "I believe I can do that."

"Excellent, because we are going to have the time of our lives."

"Yes, all right!" The she-cat agreed snuggling close to her comfortably warm Tiglon and joined him to stare out the window with child-like wonder at the snow-scape.


	3. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Tygra stopped off in the control room to check in with Lion-O and finish up last minute conversations about what needed to be done in his absence. When he was done going over checklists and file folders, Lion-O reached out and closed the cover of the file he was going over for the second time.

"We've got it, Tygra. Go. Go and have a great time. You deserve a vacation. Believe it or not, we'll be able to survive a few days without you here at the helm."

Tygra sighed and stood up straight. "Yes, I know. I just want to be sure everything is covered… it's the only way I'll be able to relax, not being here."

"By the way, I contacted Bengali. He said he and Galina were on their way back to the lair. They had an errand they had to run before you all left on your trip."

Tygra's eyebrows rose in surprise, "So they didn't take off on their own… Well, that's a relief. RK was really disappointed when Snarf told her that they had gone to the spaceport. Did they say what the errand was?"

"I didn't ask, but they should be back any minute now."

"We're back!" Galina and Bengali both exclaimed as they walked into the control room.

"Did you miss us?" Galina asked the tiger, hugging him around the waist in a playful fashion, flexing her right lower leg as she squeezed him tight.

"Galina, we were worried you two ran off without us. Did you forget that we are going to the mountains this weekend?"

"No! Never!" she exclaimed, releasing him and stepping back, grasping Bengali's hand. "We have been looking forward to this like you wouldn't believe!"

"Then why on Third Earth did you both run off to the spaceport this morning? Ranger was devastated that you had forgotten!"

"Oh no!" she shrieked, looking at Bengali. "We have to go let her know we're back!"

He held her hand tight, stopping her from running out of the room. Confused, she looked back and saw the smug look on his face. "I think she'll figure it out."

Downstairs, in the hangar, Argo and Crystalandra stood by the open bay door and watched the snow falling outside. They were both still mesmerized at the sight, and Argo took a few steps forward and held out his hand watching the frozen crystals touch his skin; then dissolve into tiny beads of water.

"This is so beautiful…" he mused as Crystalandra tightened her scarf around her neck and rubbed her gloved hands together.

"It would be even more beautiful if we were watching it through the window by a warm fire." She added as he turned to smirk at her.

"Oh come on Marozi, we're going to be immersed in this white powder all weekend. Try and have fun with it."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "I'm going to go freshen up before we get on another flight. Try not to turn into an icicle."

He winked at her as he watched her leave and turned again to watch the snowfall. It was so amazing to see snow for the very first time, and the Tiglon enjoyed the peace and serenity the crystals brought with them. Everything seemed so quiet, so calm, so at peace, and he as an empath revelled in the tranquil silence. He closed his eyes and as he held his left hand on the hangar door and breathed in the clean and crisp scent of the snow, he detected yet another presence…One that he had greatly missed.

The tigress was glad that the travel suitcase she was using had wheels, but trying to balance both hers and Tygra's together proved highly difficult. Once again, the top duffel bags slipped off the bigger rolling bags onto the floor. She twisted as they did, righting herself to avoid falling on top of them. Exasperated, she acquiesced to the reality that she would have to make two trips to load the luggage. She placed one set aside and resigned herself to just taking two at a time when she looked up and saw the Tiglon's silhouette.

She dropped the suitcases and as he heard them fall to the floor, he turned and saw the beautiful woman that meant so much to him. He smiled broadly as she slowly realized that it was really him… that he was really here.

He wore a sweater over a black collared shirt, dark blue jeans and black combat boots. His mane was spiked as it usually was, but she could tell that he'd let it grow out a bit. His eyes were as mesmerizing as always, and before she knew it, her legs were making her sprint towards him. He caught her in his muscular arms and held her tightly as she embraced him as well. Not a word was spoken as he gently released her and ran his hands up to the sides of her face and through her long striped hair.

"Ranger…" he breathed happily.

"Argo…" she replied, feeling breathless. "Omigosh, I can't believe you're really here."

"You look beautiful…."

"So do you…"

They took in the moment, just gazing at one another, then hugged again and parted as they looked out at the snow that was now coming into the hangar. It had formed a soft layer of white over the grassy plains, and Rangerkitty watched Argo's expression as he took it all in.

"I love this. It's cold, but it's fantastic."

"It's fun too. There are so many great things about snow. Here, let me show you."

She took his hand and led him a few steps outside so that the snow was falling all around them. He grinned as he watched the small white crystals touch upon her hair and stay there, looking like diamonds in her mane. She tilted her head back, and opened her mouth slightly, catching a snowflake on her tongue and closed her lips, tasting it and smiling. "You try…" she smiled.

He mimicked her actions and caught several snowflakes, closing his mouth and savouring the purity of the ice. "Wow, that's… that's one for the books. I won't ever forget this."

She smiled up at the handsome Tiglon as they both heard someone approaching. They turned to see Crystalandra walking up to them both. "Hello, Rangerkitty."

Seeing the lavender haired Sh'iar, she smiled and walked forward to embrace her, "Hello Crys! I can't believe you both are here! This is such an extraordinary surprise!"

Crystalandra smiled and looked up at her mate who was grinning as well. "Yes, it is a surprise, one your little black and white friend came up with. We're coming on vacation with you all."

Rangerkitty's jaw fell as Galina, Tygra and Bengali all entered the hangar from the main part of the lair. "You're coming too?"

"Yes." Crystalandra replied taking some offense to the tigress' response; she ran her hand through her hair flipping it over her shoulder. "Is that a problem?"

Rangerkitty responded by reaching out and grasping her for a hug. "No! It's wonderful!"

As the Feliner soared over the frozen plains of Third Earth, Argo and Crystalandra both looked out of the side windows of the vehicle. Ranger sat between Argo and Tygra, who sat next to Crystalandra. Galina had insisted that the two Sh'iars have the window seats so they could take in the views of this planet. Crystalandra was mesmerized by the snow covered hills, trees and frozen icy lakes. Tygra was content to sit quietly by her and not say a word, but wondered how this weekend would go. She had always been rather frosty towards him, and he hoped that there would not be uncomfortable moments on this trip due to their clashes in personality. Crys sat staring out of her window. She was lost in private thought, also wondering how she would hold up this weekend especially noticing how Tygra's attitude hadn't much changed towards her since the last time she had seen him. He was being his usual cool and seemingly aloof self; not saying much to her. Inwardly she sighed, wondering what she had agreed to. She looked over and noticed Argo appeared quite happy on his side of the plane, sitting next to Rangerkitty. Trying to make most of the situation, Crys decided to try and engage the architect tiger in conversation.

"So tell me Tygra, how much further is it to this mountain retreat?"

He glanced at her, somewhat startled to hear the she-cat direct a question at him. "Not long at all…It should be another fifteen minutes at the most."

Crys waited for Tygra to elaborate further then turned back to stare out the window when he fell silent. _Well __**that**__ was a waste of time…_

On the other side of the plane, Argo had his right arm around Rangerkitty and was smiling and watching as she was pointing out all of the landmarks below. The Vortex, the Forest of Silence, and the River of Despair… he found it all fascinating and hoped to someday see it when the weather was warmer.

"Wow, this planet is terrific! There are so many adventures to be had!"

"And so many that have been." Rangerkitty replied. "I was not here for many of the really good stories, but I figure if I stick around long enough I might make the history books."

Tygra turned towards her and ran his finger down her cheek. "My love, your beauty has already put you there."

She blushed and sat back in her chair as she gazed lovingly at her tiger. From her left, she did not quite hear him as he nodded and said it, ever so quietly. "I second that."

The cabin sat upon the mountainside, with large snow covered lawns in both the front and the back of the building. Bengali manoeuvred the vehicle into a landing pattern and once it made touchdown, he activated the rear thrusters so he could steer it like a land vehicle. They pulled up to the front entrance where they were greeted by the house staff who had all lined up outside as he set the gear into park.

It was more like a lodge that could accommodate many groups of guests, but for the time being, the ThunderCats and the Sh'iars were the only people that were expected. Rangerkitty climbed out of the vehicle and beamed up at the two story building, built rustically out of wood from the forest. It had a wrap-around porch that was decorated with several cushioned armchairs and couches. Fire-pits were present as were wooden tables, and around back they were informed that there were several hot tubs and an indoor pool for the guests' enjoyment. Crystalandra exited the plane and looked around, then up at the building and winced. She was not used to roughing it since she had taken over as the Sh'iar queen on Tymperia. Argo climbed out as well and squeezed her hand, excited and happy for the change of scenery. They had not taken a honeymoon since the wedding, and this was their first get-away from their native planet; their first time to be able to relax since taking the throne.

Tygra and Galina also exited the vehicle and took in their surroundings as Bengali followed a staff member who was directing him where to park the aircraft.

"This…. Is…. _**Awesome!**_" Galina exclaimed excitedly.

Tygra smiled and looked the place over. "I have not been here in years. They have made a lot of improvements and really have modernized the place."

_Modern? They call this modern? _Crystalandra thought silently as Argo nudged her.

_Come on, babe. This is going to be fun. Give it a chance._

She sighed. _I'll try_.

He grinned and took her hand as he led the group to the front door where the staff awaited them. Taking turns and going down the line, they were greeted by the concierge, the chef, the housekeepers, the waitresses, the groundskeeper, the butler, the bartender, and the security guards.

They greeted each one graciously and Tygra removed a folded piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled each of their names down, along with their job titles. He never liked to not remember a name, and made certain he shook the hand of each person. Rangerkitty followed him, introducing herself and doing the same. Bengali hurried from the hangar garage and rejoined the group as they were about to be led inside.

"Tygra! They've installed electrical cables in the hangar! The Feliner will stay charged and ready and we won't have to rely solely on fuel to take off! How cool is that!?"

"Very cool." Tygra grinned. "Let's get these guys inside. Crystalandra looks a little chilly."

"I'm fine!" The she-cat bristled. "I just wasn't expecting there to be so much snow and ice!"

She stomped forward and entered the lodge through the front door that Argo held open for her. Rangerkitty, Argo and Galina followed as Bengali approached Tygra.

"Well, maybe _she's_ fine, but her attitude is a little icy…"

"Well, I guess that means everything is completely normal." Tygra added and followed his friend inside.

Crystalandra rushed over to the inviting fireplace that was prominent in the lodge and stood before it warming herself. In truth, Tygra had been right. She was definitely feeling chilled but didn't want to give the arrogant tiger the satisfaction of confirming his observation. Argo walked over and took hold of her hands, gently rubbing them between his own which were hot and comforting.

"My poor baby is cold." He whispered so the others could not hear. "Don't worry I'll warm you up again in no time."

"Argo…I'm not sure if I will be able to handle this cold weather."

"Nonsense Marozi, you are a tough Sh'iar warrior…it's not like you at all to let something like a bit of wintry weather slow you down." The Tiglon raised her fingers to his lips gently blowing hot air on them. "I was actually looking forward to playing with you in the snow my beautifully exotic snow angel…Don't leave me to play alone."

This brought a smile to Crys' lips. "Since you put it that way…All right…You know something? I am beginning to feel a lot warmer…thanks to you."

"I'm glad." He leaned down and they shared a long, passionate kiss.

"Hey! Break it up you two! You can do that in the privacy of your room later! _Much_ later!" Galina yelled laughing at the couple. "Right now we're making arrangements to hit the slopes!"

"Slopes?" the two Sh'iars asked in unison as the two white tigers smiled and shared a grin.


	4. Chapter 5

8

**Chapter Five**

After finding their rooms and taking some time to unpack and get settled, Argo and Crys finally joined their companions downstairs. The tigers had all been sipping at a hot chocolate and caramel concoction that had been prepared for them by the chef, and were all feeling warm and relaxed by the time Crystalandra and Argo arrived. Crys looked around for the waitress, and Argo quickly saw the simmering cauldron on the table. He poured each of them a drink and handed a steaming cup to his beloved, touching her glass with his before he drank it down. It was very hot, but he didn't care. It was the first warmth he'd felt all day and to him it was pure bliss. He refilled it twice and was savouring the third cup when Rangerkitty stood and crossed the room to him and leaned in close to whisper to her friend.

"Argo, you might want to take it easy. There is liquor in this… you might not want to get drunk this early in the day."

He laughed quietly. "Is there? I had no idea. I wondered where this buzz feeling was coming from." He finished off the warm drink and smiled at her. "So? What's the plan?"

"Skiing!" she beamed.

"Skiing?" both Argo and Crystalandra repeated, neither being familiar with the sport.

"Exactly what does this skiing involve?" The she-cat inquired, daintily sipping her cup.

Galina jumped up and made to grab both of the Sh'iars arms, but recoiled suddenly as she neared the Tiglon. _Damn this promise_! She touched Crystalandra's shoulder which made the queen turn and look at her. "It's a time honoured tradition and a great sport! I guarantee you'll like it!"

"It's out there in the cold snow, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you'll be plenty warm! The activity and the snowsuits will keep you feeling just great! It's when you sit around doing nothing that you feel the chilly cold!"

"Oh joy…" She nodded and looked up at her mate who was swaying slightly. "Um Argo are you all right to go skiing?"

"Don't be ridiculous I'm fine!" He nodded and grinned. She knew he was up for anything, and she certainly couldn't be shown up by her husband. "All right Galina, let's go." Crys conceded, and Galina waved her hand as she showed everyone the way to the lockers where they could suit up to prepare for the fun.

As Tygra and Rangerkitty each chose a snowsuit, Argo leafed through the selections looking for one big enough to fit him. He was very tall and had a much broader chest than he figured most on Third Earth were used to due to his mixed heritage. He gasped and then chuckled as he reached the end of the clothing rack and saw a suit that had a note safety pinned to it, 'For the _biggest_ hunk on the planet. –Gali'.

Pulling the hanger off the bar, he opened the plastic wrap around the suit and found a stylish black and blue snowsuit in his exact size. Grinning broadly, he glanced over at Galina who was already smiling at him. She winked and he winked back in recognition. He turned and sat down to pull the suit on as she rushed over to her tigress friend.

"He winked at me!"

"He does that."

"Oh? How many winks have you gotten today?"

"Three."

Galina gasped. "You're keeping count?"

"No." Rangerkitty smiled, peering around her, seeing that Tygra was finished dressing. "But it's still early. I'll lose count after six or seven."

The white tigress fumed slightly and narrowed her eyes. "I'll get more winks than you do by day's end."

Rangerkitty chuckled as she pulled her boots on. "Okay Gali. We'll see."

Galina turned and strode over to Bengali who was selecting skis and poles at the desk to choose her own. Crystalandra had donned a purple snowsuit, and Tygra, wearing dark blue had joined them as Rangerkitty stood and zipped up her red snowsuit. Argo approached her and pulled her hair out of the way as she zipped up the area by her neck. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw him wink. She smiled back and smiled inwardly as well. _That's four._

Argo looked the skis over and frowned concerned that they would snap in two pieces under his weight. "I don't know about this, RK." He then noticed the ski that Bengali had was much larger and there was only one, not two. "What's that?" The Tiglon asked, pointing. "I wouldn't mind one of those instead."

"It's a snowboard. It's kind of like a space board or surfboard, and you can use it to surf in the snow." Bengali explained.

"I like the idea of that…I think it suits me better." He declared with a huge grin on his face. _Ah, here was something more challenging for him to sink his teeth into!_

The man at the desk handed another snowboard to Argo who gladly accepted it. Galina took the third board, and as everyone was ready with their equipment; they headed outside to where the snowmobiles were ready to transport them up the mountain. Two snowmobiles could carry 3 people each, so they looked at one another, trying to decide who would sit where. Tygra dashed forward and beat Galina to the first vehicle, gripping the handlebars. "I'll drive." He grinned as she pouted and crossed her arms in defeat. Rangerkitty walked over to the second snowmobile and smiled at Crys and Argo. Why don't you two climb on with me? We'll take turns."

Crystalandra sat behind Rangerkitty and Argo sat in the rear seat. He slipped his arms around his woman's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey there snow angel…" He mused as he affectionately kissed her cheek.

She giggled, and then realized she would have to hold onto Rangerkitty once they started moving if she didn't want to fall off. …_Awkward._

Rangerkitty turned the key and started the engine, then turned the right-sided handlebar which started the snowmobile moving forward. Crys felt the machine lurch and quickly grabbed the tigress to keep herself in her seat. Tygra followed suit with Galina holding his waist and Bengali behind her. Both snowmobiles sped up the mountain, weaving through the maze of pine trees and through the fresh white powder that had fallen the night before. The sun was shining with a bright blue sky, and the visibility was optimal for skiing. Crys tried to keep herself positioned directly behind Rangerkitty to avoid the cold wind that was blowing in her face.

"Put your goggles on, babe-might make it a little easier to see!" Argo called over the sound of the engine.

Crystalandra reached up with one hand and pulled the mask that was on her forehead down and over her face, feeling an instant relief from the barrier to the snow that had been getting into her eyes. She blinked a few times and sent a silent _Thank you_ to her mate who squeezed her even more tightly. Arriving at the mountaintop, Rangerkitty and Tygra slowed down and put the machines into neutral. Everyone climbed off and collected their skis and boards to start their first run down the ski slope. Two lodge staff members came to collect the snowmobiles to return them down the mountain so that they would be ready for the ThunderCats' next ascent.

Galina raised her arms heavenwards and inhaled. "Ahh! Just _smell_ that wonderful fresh cool air!" Turning towards the Tiglon, "Argo, you are going to have an amazing time snowboarding. You made the right decision choosing it over the skis."

He grinned. "You think so? I hope I don't regret my decision."

"Nah, you won't! Come on, let's get you started!" Placing her board on the snow, she stepped into the bindings and quickly laced up. "Do what I do…"

Argo watched Galina and then Bengali as he slipped his boots into the straps.

"Hmmm I think I can manage that." In no time at all the Tiglon was buckled up and ready to go.

"You're a fast learner!" The white tigress chuckled.

He winked at her. "I've got a good instructor…So what do we do next to get this thing moving?"

Her heart fluttered in her chest. _Ooh now that is the third time he's winked at me! Rangerkitty eat your heart out!_ Pulling her goggles down over her eyes she grinned. "We push off and go down like this!"

The white tigress jumped, landed, then took off like a bullet and went careening down the hill. She swerved around several times, enjoying the fresh snowfall and tried to find jumps that she could fly off of.

Bengali smiled, admiring his mate. "Well Argo it's you next…I'll take off after you go, just to make certain you're all right."

The Tiglon pulled down his own goggles and smirked. "That won't be necessary. I think I've got the idea of this snowboard and how it works." He launched himself and went zooming down the slope like a pro!

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?" Bengali muttered under his breath and followed after him.

Rangerkitty stood leaning on her poles watching the big Tiglon whoosh down the slopes with his multicoloured mane blowing in the breeze. He looked spectacular! She turned to watch Tygra helping Crystalandra snap her boots into the ski bindings.

"So what exactly is my objective while balancing on these thin strips of wood and sticking these oversized toothpicks into the ice?" Crys inquired.

Tygra sighed. "The objective is for you to have fun skiing, Crys. It's really quite simple."

The tigress gracefully glided over to the Sh'iar queen on her skis, coming to a gentle stop. Crystalandra wrinkled up her nose. "You make it look so easy Ranger." Crys sighed.

"Oh it is… Let me teach you the basics…Watch me…I am going to teach you a move called the snowplow."

"Huh?"

"Listen, I'll leave you ladies and see you at the bottom." The tiger waved and took off.

"You see how Tygra is doing that? It's really quite simple if you don't over-complicate it, and after a couple of tries you'll be an expert."

Crys snorted. "I doubt I'll be out in the snow that long—my toes are getting cold in these boots!"

"Oh Crystalandra, please don't be like that…Didn't you see Argo go whizzing past on his snowboard? He picked up on it so quickly and so will you! You just have to want to enjoy yourself!" Ranger said grinning. "Now come on watch me…" She inclined her ski tips into an inverted V. "Depending on how closely you angle the tips together that will control your speed and you use the poles to push off."

With an exasperated sigh, Crystalandra imitated the tigress' actions and pushed off with her poles, slowly gliding down the slopes.

"That's it Crys! Excellent!" Ranger encouraged her. "Try going a little faster!"

Crys did so and found herself picking up speed—perhaps a little too much speed! With a surprised yelp she took off suddenly racing down the slopes out of control!

"Crys! Slow down!" The tigress yelled giving chase. "Use your skis! Move the tips inwards to slow your speed!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM TRYING TO DO?!" She shouted; Crys disappeared over the ridge and there was a loud crash!

Argo pulled up to where Galina had stopped. He turned to stop and sprayed her with snow from his snowboard. She giggled and dusted off as he looked back up the mountain. "That was amazing!" He gushed removing his goggles and ruffling his mane. "We've got to do this again! Is there a higher mountain slope we can snowboard down?"

Bengali joined them as she arrived at the base, laughing. "Look at him! His first time on a snowboard and already he thinks he's an expert!"

Galina chuckled, "You could have fooled me! He certainly snowboards like one!"

Very shortly they were joined by Tygra who skied up to the group. It was definitely the more elegant sport, and Tygra had handled his run well. He smiled at his cousin. "I'm at least glad to see you're having a much better time than your wife."

The Tiglon climbed out of his bindings. "Where is Crystalandra? Is she coming down? I can't wait to see how she handles the skis."

"When last I saw her, Rangerkitty was giving her some basic lessons on how to maneuver."

"Really?" Argo grinned but this quickly faded when he picked up a mental distress from his wife. "Something is wrong!" He raced over to one of the snowmobiles, jumped on, started it up, and drove up the incline.

"What's going on?" Galina asked.

Tygra frowned. "I think that perhaps Crys must be in some kind of trouble for Argo to take off like that. I hope she didn't crash into a tree."

"Well let's go see if we can be of some assistance." Bengali shouted!

Bengali, Galina, and Tygra ran over to the remaining snowmobile and gave chase to Argo's snowmobile which had just rounded the first batch of evergreens.

Rangerkitty peered into the ravine, "Crystalandra are you all right?"

"DO I LOOK AS THOUGH I AM ALL RIGHT?!" The she-cat roared. "My skis are tangled in the tree branches! I'm stuck in this damn tree!"

"You're not seriously hurt, are you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Crys yelled. "Just my pride…For goddess' sake! I am a Sh'iar warrior! I have fought many impossible battles and have won! I have even stood up to enemies larger than myself and yet today, I have been defeated by snow-of all things!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Ranger sympathized as she watched her friend dangling upside down in the tree. She glanced up at the sound of an approaching snowmobile motor. "Crys don't worry! Argo is here!"

The Tiglon ran over to where the orange tigress stood. "Where is she?"

"She's down there… stuck in a tree, Argo…She was going too fast on the skis and couldn't manage to slow down. She went over the edge but the tree broke her fall." Ranger explained. Argo leaned over, "Hun are you hurt?"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The she-cat screeched. "I'M COLD AND I AM WET AND EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE!"

The Tiglon sighed. "She's all right."

Using Tygra's whip, Rangerkitty repelled down and climbed the tree to secure Crystalandra as the three men and Galina broke branches and carefully lifted Crystalandra down from her perch. Her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment as Argo collected her in his arms and Bengali worked on releasing her boots from the clips on her skis. Once free, she buried her face into his shoulder. _I was dangling from that tree like an ornament! How humiliating!_

_My love, you are among friends. Perhaps one day we will all laugh about this, but only when you do first. The important thing is that you are okay._

She looked up at him through narrowed eyes and growled quietly as he gave her a rough smooch on the lips. _So let's go again! The mountain calls_!

_Put me down!_ Struggling, she fought him until he set her down on her feet. "I am NOT going back up there!"

He pouted slightly. "Aw, Crys, it's so much fun! I was having such a good time! Are you sure? Maybe your second run will be better!"

"No, no, and no. I officially give up on this." She announced. "Stupid sport—I hate skiing!" She grumbled.

Rangerkitty approached them both, looking somewhat guilty. "Crys, I'm sorry. We should have started out on a much easier hill. I feel terrible that this happened."

Crystalandra opened her mouth to retort when Argo put his arm around RK who looked like she was about to cry. "It's okay hun; she made it out safe and sound. Don't blame yourself."

Taking a deep breath, Crys grabbed the arm he had around the tigress and pulled it off, then released him and looked her square in the eyes. "I do not blame you, Ranger. I know you were trying to help. The skis got away from me is all." She told her quietly.

Rangerkitty nodded in appreciation and pulled the Sh'iar in for a hug. "I understand if you don't want to do this anymore. We can all go back to the lodge."

"No!" Crystalandra exclaimed, pulling away from the embrace. "That wouldn't be fair! You all are enjoying yourselves. I'll just go back and warm up and meet up with you later."

Tygra watched this conversation and saw how Crys was a little unsteady on her feet. Realizing that letting her go back alone was a bad idea, he volunteered to take her back himself. Crys looked at him, startled and surprised. Out of all her companions, he was the last person that she had expected to offer to go with her. _What was he up to?_

Rangerkitty approached her mate and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Are you sure? I mean, I'd love to ski some more but I can come with you…"

He grinned with the right side of his mouth. "Nah, you stay and have fun. I'll make sure she gets back safely and gets warmed up. I'll see you later for dinner."

She smiled and kissed his lips softly as Argo scooped Crystalandra up and sat her on the snowmobile. "I'll see you later, Marozi. Don't worry, you're in good hands."

She scowled. "He can keep his hands to himself. The only hands I want are yours."

"You'll have them tonight, my queen. You can count on that…"

For the first time since her crash landing, she smiled. Her Tiglon was so endearing, she had no defences against his charm. Looking up, she saw Tygra approach and regard her before he lifted a leg and straddled the snowmobile. Wordlessly, she embraced him around the waist as he started the engine. He revved it several times and nodded to their friends. "Have fun you lot. See you later for dinner."

They all waved as Tygra started the vehicle and turned around to descend the mountain. Crys was glad he kept it at a slower speed - The snow that blew at them remained mostly at their feet and lower legs. She hated to admit it but her head was developing a dull ache from the accident. Relaxing, knowing that soon she would be warm and sitting by the fire, she pulled closer to him and rested her head against his back as she held him. He stiffened a moment, and then relaxed, glad that she was comfortable. She hadn't complained about his driving yet, so he figured that it was a safe speed and gently steered around the trees, trying to keep the trip as smooth as possible. They pulled up to the front of the lodge, and he stopped the snowmobile as he saw a staff member hurry out to valet the vehicle away. He stepped off it and offered his hands to Crystalandra who gladly took them, still feeling slightly unsteady from her time upside down in the white spruce tree.

Together, they walked inside and Tygra steered her toward the sitting area in the den by the fireplace that was burning brightly. She collapsed in the comfortable seating and Tygra knelt at her feet, un-strapping and removing both of her boots. She allowed him to do this, and was feeling exhausted as he took both of her hands, pulling her up to stand before him. Unsure what he was doing, she watched as he undid the snaps on the lavender snowsuit by her neck and pulled the zipper slowly down, over her chest, down her abdomen and below. He them reached up and began to gently pull the suit off her shoulders and down her body.

"Tygra…."

He looked at her. "You'll warm up faster if we take this snowsuit off. Trust me."

She nodded, shivering and sat down again once the suit was down around her knees. He pulled each leg off and folded it up as she looked at him. "Rest a few minutes. I'll go return these and come back with warm drinks. How does that sound?"

"Like heaven." She whispered as he grinned and turned to go. Crys watched him leave then rested her head against the soft couch turning her gaze to the flames. She closed her eyes and savoured the warmth crossing her heels and exhaled, finally relaxing.


	5. Chapter 6

11

**Chapter Six**

Argo had just completed his third run down the mountain and had announced that snowboarding was his new favourite sport. Galina had smiled as Bengali high fived his friends, and wished that she could do the same. _Well, maybe since Crys isn't here. I mean, he wouldn't say anything, I'm sure….._

Deciding to leave it alone, she looked up at Rangerkitty who was still skiing down the slope. She moved left and right, and appeared to be having great fun, while at the same time, challenging herself on the skis. Suddenly, Galina gasped and Argo and Bengali looked up to see Rangerkitty steer herself towards a cliff and go right over it.

"RK!" Galina screamed, trying to run through the snow and falling as she was trying to run too fast. Argo started after her and Bengali made to grab their snowmobile when they all were shocked to see Rangerkitty emerge through the grove of pine trees, upright on her skis, smiling broadly as she held the poles up in triumph.

Galina looked up and wiped the snow off her face as Rangerkitty turned her skis sideways to help her stop. "How sweet was _that_?!" she exclaimed as the three of them gaped at her.

"We thought you were dead!" Bengali yelled.

"What do you mean going off the cliff like that?!" Argo also yelled.

Rangerkitty recoiled at their shouting and looked down at Galina who had fallen face first in the snow. Galina dusted her hair off of the snow and looked up at her friend. "I thought you party rocked! That was amazing!"

Grinning, Rangerkitty fell down into the snow and hugged her friend. "Thanks! I have always wanted to try that sort of jump!"

She looked up and saw Bengali and Argo both grinning.

"It _was_ pretty cool, actually." Bengali confessed.

"I wanna try!" Argo exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Shouldn't we be getting back to Tygra and Crys?" Rangerkitty asked. "They are all by themselves at the lodge. They are probably waiting for us."

Bengali and Galina nodded and mounted a snowmobile at her suggestion. Bengali bit his lower lip in trust and terror as Galina turned the handlebars, whipping them up at breaking speed towards the mountaintop for one more unexpected run. Argo took Rangerkitty's gloved hand and led her to a second snowmobile the staff had brought them. He climbed into the front seat, excited to drive this time. "RK, they will be fine. The two of them could actually use a little alone time together, if you know what I mean."

Rangerkitty nodded as he revved the engine, much more than necessary. She grinned as he was having fun with it. Panthro would have chastised him for overdoing it on the machinery.

"I _**so**_ want them to get along…" she said to herself quietly.

He'd heard her, even over the loudness of the engine. He twisted at the waist and kissed her cheek. "So do I…So very much. I bet they'd get along famously if they could just get rid of the prejudices they have for each other."

"What would those be?"

Argo grinned, studying how pretty Rangerkitty looked. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the exertion and the cold, and gods help him, if he weren't married he would kiss her right now. Of course, the fact that she was betrothed to his cousin and idol didn't help either.

"They both think the other is too good for them. That they are aloof and better than the other."

Rangerkitty gasped. "Tygra is the most humble and non-aloof person I know! It's part of why I love him so much! I could never be with an arrogant and superficial person! He's just really good at… almost everything! And he's humble about it so he doesn't brag! He's just very efficient and is content with doing a good job! Why is that considered aloof?"

Argo sighed, understanding her argument and knowing his cousin, he agreed. "I think it's tough when your reputation precedes you. People know of his greatness, and I think many are intimidated by that. Crystalandra isn't intimidated by anything or anyone, but I get the feeling that she might be slightly affected by him, whether she wants to admit it or not. She knows how highly I regard him."

Rangerkitty watched Argo and he once again ran his right hand through her hair. "I think Crystalandra is trying harder _not _to like him on purpose. I'm hoping this weekend will change that."

She smiled as she touched the hand he had in her hair. "I hope so too."

Tygra had changed out of his snowsuit and had changed out of his uniform entirely. He wore a dark red button down shirt, a deep red sweater and a pair of Khaki pants, along with dark boots. Wearing shoes was unusual for him, but as this weather could cause frostbite and vasoconstriction, he figured that he could deal with wearing them for a few days.

Crystalandra had not moved an inch from her location on the couch as she was much too comfortable. Tygra walked over and gently sat down beside her. Feeling the movement on the pillows, she opened her closed eyes and smiled tiredly as he handed her a large warm mug of something that smelled amazing.

She straightened up and looked at it, pleased at the whipped cream and chocolate dusting that was floating on top. "What is this?"

"This, my dear, is called hot chocolate. I think you're going to really like it."

She glanced at his cup and saw he did not have the cream and chocolate on top and inquired as to why. He smiled and took a sip before he explained to her.

"I know that girls like the toppings. I'm happy with just the basics."

She sipped at hers and fell immediately in love with this drink. She let her head fall gently back against the pillowed couch and regarded Tygra, who was grinning at her.

"What?"

He made a motion with his finger over his top lip. She didn't understand and shook her head slightly from side to side. Closing his eyes and chuckling with his head tilted slightly forward, he leaned in and used his index finger to remove the whipped cream/milk moustache that she was wearing. She laughed as she realized what she must have looked like and watched as he wiped his finger clean in a napkin.

"Thank you."

"Never a problem."

"So why are you being nice to me?"

He blinked. "I'm just being me. This is who I am."

"I've never seen this 'you' before."

He shrugged. "Well, here I am."

She looked down at her mug. "What's in this hot chocolate?"

He looked at her. "Chocolate... Pretty good, right?"

Crys nodded and finished her drink. Relaxing at last, she let her guard down a little to the tiger, allowing herself to perhaps trust this Thunderian. The waitress strolled by and refilled their mugs as they both enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

"Can I admit something to you?" Crystalandra asked the tiger taking another sip from her delicious mug of hot chocolate.

"Of course."

"Skiing isn't my thing; I don't particularly like the sensation of falling—it makes me feel like I have no control. In all honesty I prefer to be on a solid platform."

A realization struck Tygra as she said this and a grin appeared on his face; for a spontaneous plan was forming in his mind. Crystalandra could see this immediate change in his demeanour and looked at him for more information. "What? What are you thinking?"

He grinned with the right side of his mouth-a smile that Crystalandra was starting to find somewhat endearing. "I think I just figured out the perfect icebreaker for us."

"Really? I can't wait to see what you have come up with but you can tell me tomorrow. For now I am just content to lie here…"

Tygra glanced up when the door opened and in walked Ranger, Galina, Ben, and Argo—they were talking excitedly about the fun they had on the slopes. Tygra rose from the couch to greet the troupe.

"Did you have a good time?"

The orange tigress ran up to Tygra looping her arms around his neck. "We had a wonderful time! I'm so sorry that you missed it." She glanced over at Crys who had seemingly fallen asleep. "How was it with her?"

"Fine…No problems at all…Crys was rather pleasant."

Bengali grinned. "It seems then the ice queen has finally melted."

Galina poked the white tiger in the ribs. "Watch it you!"

Argo walked over to his mate and scooted under the warm blankets with her. Removing the hot chocolate from her hands, he finished its contents before planting a kiss on her cheek. Her eyes flew open and she squealed from the contact of his cold lips against her skin. "Argo!" The she-cat squirmed to get away but he wrapped his big arms around her pulling her into his embrace. "You're cold!" Crys complained.

He grinned. "Yes but you're going to warm me up…" Argo brushed his hand lovingly through her burgundy mane. "How are you feeling?"

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Content."

"Yes you are!" The Tiglon replied with amazement. "Everything I take it went well between you and Tygra?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Crys smiled. "He is the perfect gentleman."

Argo turned his head and catching his cousin's eye he winked. _I don't know what you did Tygra, but I think you may be slowly winning her over._

Crys had no idea why he'd asked her for her shoe size as they had prepared to leave the lodge. She'd changed into warmer clothes than the sweater and leggings she had been wearing before. She had doubled her socks and wore boots and was wearing a fur coat when the unexpected sleigh pulled up to the front of the lodge.

"What is this?!" she exclaimed as she looked at the horse and driver.

"A holiday gift, from me to you," Tygra replied, climbing in and holding his hand out for her.

She took it and allowed him to pull her into the seat.

"A holiday gift?" She echoed with some surprise in her voice. "What have I done to deserve a gift from you?"

"You'll see…" He replied mysteriously.

To her delight, a woven blanket was produced and Tygra draped it over both of their laps. It was warm and made the journey comfortable as the coachman encouraged the horse forward. She smiled and realized that this tiger just might be okay.

It was late in the day but there was still plenty of light out. The coachman guided the horse through the forest and Crystalandra was feeling happy for the first time since arriving at this lodge. She looked up at Tygra who had one arm around her shoulders and smiled back. "Feeling warm?'

"Yes and… happy." She replied, daring to rest her head upon his shoulder. He was happy at the gesture, and tightened his hold around her. They relaxed and breathed in the pure crisp mountain air as the sleigh coasted through the snow. After about 10 more minutes, they arrived at the frozen lake.

Feeling suddenly cautious, she looked around, not seeing any house staff from the lodge here. The lake was of a moderate size, and she could see that it was frozen from end to end. The pine trees were dusted with snow and the white birch trees had a frozen layer of ice covering their branches, so that in the late day's light, they seemed to glisten like they were interwoven crystal. She was quite taken with the beauty of it all, and smiled up at the tree line shimmering under the lavender sky.

Tygra moved the blanket to the side and stood up in the sleigh, reaching beneath the front seat and producing 2 pairs of boots that had blades attached under them. Crystalandra eyed the boots with some confusion. "What on Tymperia are those? Are they for battle?"

He burst out with an amused laugh. "No! These are called ice skates. We're going to have some winter fun on a solid ground, as requested."

She looked up at his gaze, then out to the frozen smooth water. "Are you serious? We'll slip and fall and be covered in bruises! We'll fall through the ice and freeze underneath in the cold water!"

"We would, if we didn't have these. In your boots you would have no traction, with these, you use your own momentum to glide, not slide over the ice." He grinned. "And we will not fall through. This pond has been frozen solid for over two months. The temperature had never come higher than a few degrees above freezing, and it is checked daily before anyone comes here to skate. It's very safe."

Crystalandra looked back down at the skates and shook her head slightly. The last thing in the world she wanted was to fall again and appear foolish, especially in front of this tiger! Taking a breath, she chastised herself and remembered how kind he was being. She had to at least give this skating thing a try. His logical analysis and information about the lake's condition actually made her feel less nervous, as opposed to thinking that he was being a know-it all scientist again.

She selected the smaller white pair from him and pulled off her boots, careful to lace the skates up as tightly as possible over her feet and ankles. Tygra strapped his on as well and stepped carefully out of the sleigh and held out his hand for her to assist her out. She stepped into the snow and after teetering only for a moment, realized her balance wasn't so bad, at least in the snow. She held his hand as he led her to the edge of the pond and gave her a few instructions.

"So Crys, like I said, there is no traction on the lake. You have to make it yourself by turning your skates to the side or by using this part at the front, which is rough and will help you slow down or stop if you have to. I'll step out first and demonstrate."

She nodded and watched him as he stepped onto the lake and began to glide over it gracefully. Her mouth fell open slightly as she saw how much fun it looked. He turned and skated backwards, then in a circle, back around and turned his skates, causing ice to scrape out from under them and skidded to a stop.

"Wow!"

He laughed. "Yes, it's a lot of fun. I can't promise that you won't fall a few times at first, but we all do. Are you ready?"

She nodded and walked to the edge of the ice where he skated over and held both hands out for her. "You'll hold onto me until you feel steady and then I'll let you off on your own."

She glared at him, ready to announce that she didn't need any hand-holding and stepped out on the ice, immediately regretting her decision. Feeling her legs start to go out from under her, she flailed her arms and started to go down when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up against him, avoiding her fall. "Try to get your skates beneath you back on the ice Crys." He told her, feeling her feet sliding around beneath her.

She bent her knees and after a few moments, she was able to straighten up and stand. Tygra released her and took her hands. "Maybe just trust me for a little while, Crys? I have done this before and just want to show you how. I'm not implying you cannot do it without me, but it will be easier if you let me show you how it's done..."

"Yes, you're right." She sighed. "Sorry, I'm still trying to get used to us getting along like this."

He grinned and gripped her gloved hands. "Okay, relax, I'm going to pull you along to get used to the ice. Try to keep upright." He turned his hips slightly; distributing the weight on his right, then his left and began to skate backwards again, pulling her forward. She yelped slightly as they started to move, and she saw how this truly was a game of balance and momentum. They made it across the lake and Tygra began to turn them to the left so they were skating around the perimeter of the frozen palate.

"Take a look at how I am crossing my ankles slightly as we turn, Crys, you do this for both forwards and backwards when you want to turn. Are you ready to take some steps?"

She nodded and began to push off the skates, imitating the way he had done it. Feeling more in control now that she was moving and guiding herself, she smiled brightly.

"I'm skating!"

"Yes, you are!" He grinned, and released one of her hands, turning so that they were both skating forward now. They went around in wide circles a few times, and Tygra gave them a few opportunities to practice stopping. She let him go after the last stop and went off on her own, smiling broadly and having the first real fun that she'd experienced all day. He cheered for her as she whizzed by him, and he started off after her in chase. They wove in and out of each other's paths on their skates, laughing and smiling.

A few times, he took both of her hands and they both turned their skates outward, twirling in stationary circles. Unable to resist, he showed off a little, showing her a few single and double jumps and twirls in the air, landing on one skate and gliding gracefully backwards. She clapped when he would land successfully and laughed and skated over to help him up when he fell. She slipped a couple of times herself, but never actually injured herself.

As it was starting to get dark, she went for one more circle around the ice, wanting to try one of the jumps like he had performed, despite his caution to her that it took time and practice to learn those moves. She reached the far end of the ice and turned, picking up speed, determined to get it right on her very first attempt. He skated over to the snow and stepped off the ice, waving to the chauffeur that they were ready to leave. The driver nodded and slapped the reins to engage the horse and began to approach the lake.

Crys figured she had enough speed now and twisted to jump. Surprising herself, she completed the turn and landed without hurting herself. Shouting out in delight, she looked up to see if Tygra had seen her, and realized all too late how close to the side of the lake she was, and she was still moving incredibly fast. Tygra was right in front of her with a startled look on his face and held both of his hands out forward. Before she could turn her skates or use the toe pick, she crashed into him and they fell down, tumbling together in the powdery snow. They rolled over several times and finally came to a stop. Crys opened her eyes and realized that she was lying directly on top of him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you all right?"

"Oww…" he moaned as he finally caught his breath. He opened his eyes and looked up at her, half smiling and half suffocating under the warrior queen's weight.

She looked at him, grateful his eyes were open and touched his face, getting him to look her in the eyes. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, and then winked at her. "That was a great jump." She smiled and laughed in relief as he smiled back. "Might want to work on that last landing, though."

She climbed off of him and helped pull him to his feet. "I'll remember that."

"Good." He told her, dusting the snow off his clothes and out of his mane, stopping when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her questioningly and paused as there was a look in her eyes he had never seen before. She was smiling at his and her magnificent purple eyes sparkled, even in the twilight. It unnerved him slightly, unsure if she was about to come back with one of her usual sarcastic retorts.

"What I mean is, I will remember this… this day. This gift you gave me. Thank you."

He returned her smile and relaxed, glad that she'd had fun. "You're more than welcome. So… I guess you like this better than skiing?"

"It was wonderful. We should bring the others back here before the weekend is over."

"Well, we should try and do that then." Tygra climbed into the sleigh and assisted her in as well. The driver started off back to the lodge as they unlaced their skates and pulled their boots back on. Crystalandra reached over him to retrieve the wool blanket and draped it back over their laps, causing Tygra to grin at his cousin-in-law. He sat back on the bench seat and relaxed, enjoying the frozen forest scenery as they traveled back to the mountain lodge to meet up with their friends.

By the time the sleigh pulled up to the lodge it was dark out but the lights burned brightly inside the lodge making it look cozy and inviting. Tygra helped Crystalandra disembark from the sleigh and after thanking the chauffeur for his services they entered the building clapping and stamping their feet in an attempt to get warm. The others—Argo, Rangerkitty, Bengali, and Galina were seated before the grand fireplace munching on appetizers before dinner. When they heard the front door open they turned and greeted them happily.

"Ah there you two are!" Galina grinned. "Did you have a good time? Come on over and tell us how the skating went."

Crys shrugged out of her fur coat, letting it fall to the floor and ran over to Argo. Rangerkitty, who had been sitting beside the Tiglon moved to the opposite couch to make space for her and was delighted that the Sh'iar queen was happy. Tygra sat down beside his tigress and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a brief squeeze. _Believe it or not I had a marvellous time teaching Crystalandra to skate!_

_Honestly? _Rangerkitty was ecstatic. _I'm so relieved to hear that…I was agonizing over that all afternoon!_

_You shouldn't have…You didn't trust that I would eventually win her over?_

The tigress grinned at him, and then re-focused her attention on the conversation that was taking place. Crys was actually gushing over the fun she'd had skating. Argo chuckled. "I take it then that ice skating is your favourite sport now."

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes—you should try it…It is so much fun!"

Galina and Bengali exchanged subtle glances surprised by the gruff Sh'iar queen's change in behaviour…Yes! The ice queen _had_ melted!

The Tiglon was quite pleased by Crys' change in demeanour and hugged her. "I'm proud of you…"

A waitress approached the group and bowed. "Excuse me my esteemed guests, but if you will follow me into the dining hall, dinner is served…"

Argo greedily licked his lips, "At last!"

"I hope you prepared extra food—I'm giving you fair warning Lord Argo has quite a large appetite." Tygra informed the waitress.

She smiled. "We were given advanced warning about that…Don't worry there is plenty of food available to fill the lord's belly."

The smells wafting into the massive dining hall were intoxicatingly mouth-watering to the Tiglon whose stomach was growling in response. Crys looped her arm around Argo's. "Don't worry hun; you'll be eating soon enough… try to hold on a little longer."

He rubbed his belly. "I've worked up a voracious appetite from snowboarding. I hope there'll be enough food for everybody because I can't guarantee you that there will be any left once I'm finished!" He joked.

Everyone chuckled over this except his wife who rolled her eyes knowing from experience that what he said would hold true. The waitress led them to an elaborately decorated round table surrounded by mahogany carved chairs.

"Please be seated and we'll bring out the meal to you." She said and then disappeared into the kitchen leaving the couples. Ben leaned towards Gali keeping his voice down. "Where on New Thundera does Argo put the food he eats? The guy inhales his food like there's no tomorrow yet he doesn't pack on the weight!"

"Yeah, I've noticed…" The white tigress whispered back dreamily staring at the Tiglon. "I think it's due to the fact that he's quite physically attractive… _I mean_…active."

"Is that so?" Bengali mumbled pulling out her chair. _Gali, I wish you would stop drooling so much over him!_

_Who says that I do? _She sent back rather indignantly. _You're imagining things…I just still can't get over how good a snowboarder he is…_

_Uh huh… likely story…_

Tygra rushed ahead of Argo and to everyone's surprise, the tiger pulled back a seat not for his mate but for Crystalandra!

"Here you go my lady…" He said politely.

The she-cat giggled. "Thank you kindly Tygra. That is so considerate of you." And she sat. Removing the white dinner napkin from the plate before her, Crys shook it out and spread it on her lap. Ranger and Argo exchanged pleased glances with one another to see that the long-time combatants were being…uncommonly pleasant and cordial with each other. The Tiglon held out a chair beside Tygra for the tigress and then he sat regarding his wife's beaming face opposite him. He was simply stunned to see how relaxed she appeared and he settled back feeling a sense of relief. This weekend was turning out better than he had expected.

With everyone finally seated, the kitchen staff brought out the dinner which consisted of salad; roast stuffed rosemary duck in wine sauce, pureed potatoes, an assortment of vegetables, and an eggnog mousse for dessert. Argo of course rejected the side salad preferring to tuck into the main meal, and boy did he eat!

Crys speared her salad munching thoughtfully. "Galina, when I was chatting with you via the comms you had stressed that Argo and I should bring presents. We have done this of course, but what exactly is the significance of it in relation to the Winter Solstice?"

The white tigress grinned. "I guess you wouldn't know being from Tymperia, but don't you have a celebration where you give out presents?"

"That would the Phoenix Festival of Lights." Argo interjected between bites of his meal. "It's a celebration of great feasting, dancing, and merriment."

_Somehow I can't picture Sh'iars being merry._ Bengali snorted and was rewarded with a swift kick to the shins by his mate.

Argo gave the white tiger a long measured look and went back to shovelling food into his mouth. Gali cleared her throat.

"The Winter Solstice is a celebration of renewal, good deeds, and gift giving…my favourite time of year!" She exclaimed clapping her hands. "It is also a wonderful event that I am happy to share with my awesome friends." She raised her glass of red chardonnay, "I'd like to make a toast although it has nothing to do with the winter solstice I've always wanted to say this…

May the road rise to meet you.  
May the wind be always at your back.  
May the sun shine warm upon your face.  
And rains fall soft upon your fields.  
And until we meet again,  
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Skål!

Everyone raised their glass in return, "SKÅL!" They shouted, clinked their glasses together, and drank. Argo finished his second plate of food which was cleared and another was brought to replace it. "What exactly does that word mean?"

"May I answer that?" Tygra inquired as Galina nodded.

"Please do."

"I believe it is an old English/Danish/Norwegian/Swedish word for _bowl_"

Crys frowned slightly. "What does a bowl have anything to do with drinking?"

"It actually refers to older type drinking vessels back in the day which were probably bowls." He said leaning back from his finished salad plate which was removed and the main course was placed in front of him. "The braised duck looks delicious!"

"It is cuz." Argo agreed wolfing down his fifth plate of food.

"Um, Lee… will you have room for dessert?" The she-cat inquired taking a small bite from her plate.

"You know I will babe…" He replied with a wink. "I'm not full at all."


	6. Chapter 7

8

Chapter Seven

Feeling satiated, the Sh'iars and ThunderCats sat back in their chairs at the dining room table. They had finished the delicious meal and dessert and had enjoyed pleasant conversation. Rangerkitty was still amazed as she watched Tygra and Crystalandra talking animatedly about their time ice skating that afternoon. They both seemed very happy and inwardly she was happy for them. It had always been so uncomfortable in the previous times they had been together. True, they had both always tried to be polite and well mannered but it had been obvious that they inwardly disapproved of one another.

Now, as they sat smiling as they listened to Galina and Bengali talking about the snowboard race they'd had down the mountain with Argo, Rangerkitty did her best to hide a yawn. She was exhausted from waking up so early, her exertions in the snow, and now being filled with a warm dinner. Argo noticed and grinned.

"Uh oh…Looks like someone is ready to turn in for the night."

"Excuse me, I'm sorry." She smiled back. "It's been such a wonderful day. I hope none of you mind if I go up to bed."

"Are you serious?" Galina asked her, exasperated. "It's still early!"

Bengali touched his hand on Galina's lap. "Hun, if she's tired, she's tired. We're up here all weekend. There's plenty of time to do stuff."

Argo looked across at Crystalandra who was dabbing her lips with her cloth napkin. "How are you holding up, my love?"

"I'm fine. What are we doing next?"

"They have a bunch of great board games and card games. We could play one of those!" Galina suggested, "Unless anyone wants to go out for a night time sleigh ride!"

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" the Tiglon grinned, looking at his mate.

"I've already been for a sleigh ride and I'm finally warm…Perhaps tomorrow. I like the ideas of games in front of the fire for tonight."

"We can divide up into teams." Bengali offered.

Rangerkitty looked at Tygra with sleepy looking eyes, and he stood up to pull out her chair. "Let me escort you to bed, kitty."

Grateful, she stood and took him by the arm, wishing her friends a good night. They all said their goodnights and Galina looked up as Tygra and Rangerkitty made it to the doorway. "Wait! Look!"

Startled, they stopped and looked back at her, wondering what she was gesturing at. They looked up at the doorframe and saw what the white tigress was indicating to. Above them, hanging from a green ribbon were the green leaves and white berries of a plant, tied with a small bow. Rangerkitty laughed and slipped her arms around Tygra's neck, and leaned up to kiss him. He embraced her waist and kissed back, then after a few seconds, winked at Galina and turned, disappearing with his mate.

Crys had watched all this with a furrowed brow and Argo still had his eyebrows raised as Bengali chuckled to himself. "Nice, Gali. Something tells me that Tygra won't be coming back to join us tonight."

Crystalandra looked at him. "What just happened?"

Bengali grinned. "That plant is called mistletoe. It's a winter tradition that if a man and a woman get caught under it together that they share a kiss. Galina got them to stop right below it." His gaze shifted to the tigress. "You naughty little minx."

Galina was sitting back in her chair looking very pleased with herself. "Well, now we have even teams, don't we? Let's go pick out a game."

Tygra and Rangerkitty reached their room and went inside. Happily she sat on the bed and fell backwards, savouring the softness of the mattress and comforter. Tygra grinned and approached her taking her hands and trying to pull her up. "Come on baby; let's get you out of those clothes so you can sleep comfortably."

She went limp on the bed so he couldn't get her to stand. "I am comfortable. If you want to get my clothes off you'll have to take them off."

"Oh really… is that an invitation?"

She giggled as he pulled off her boots, followed by the leggings she wore. Next he climbed onto the bed beside her and slowly began to unbutton her shirt as he kissed her softly on the mouth. When he had completed this, he pulled the comforter down so she could crawl under it and pulled it back over her. Looking up at him as he stood beside the bed, she worried that he was going to tuck her in and leave her to rest on her own.

Picking up on her worry, he grinned as he reached for the light and switched it off. By the light of the moon that shone in from the window, she saw that he hadn't moved from where he was standing. "I'm not going anywhere." He whispered as he began to unbutton his own shirt as well.

After Tygra and Rangerkitty had left the room, Galina, Bengali, Crystalandra, and Argo got into a game of charades. The white tigers were pleasantly surprised to see that the Sh'iar queen was quite good—she and Argo won several matches playing together—they made a formidable team. The Tiglon was quite delighted by the relaxed manner his wife was exhibiting—it was something he hadn't seen in awhile since she ascended the throne on Tymperia. Her cheeks were rosy and her deep purple eyes sparkled merrily in the firelight and watching her sharing a giggle with Galina, his heart swelled with an overwhelming love for the feisty hot headed hybrid; he cleared his throat.

"You know something since it is getting late I think we will turn in for the night."

Crys and Gali protested.

"Not you as well!" The white tigress whined. "The night is young!"

"Oh come on Argo can't we stay a little bit longer? I'm not tired at all!" His wife begged. "Please? Can we not play one more game of charades?"

_I thought you wanted my hands on you my queen…_Argo sent. _I think I would like to spend some time alone with you Marozi and let my hands do some exploring…_

Crys didn't need any further coaxing, she quickly rose. "I didn't realize it was getting so late…I'm sorry we would love to remain but it has been quite a long day." She reached down grabbing Argo's hand pulling him to his feet. "Come on hun…"

Galina frowned. "This is a conspiracy like rats leaving a sinking ship!"

"Oh come on Gali lighten up." Ben scolded then turned to the Sh'iar couple. "You two have a good night—we had fun and don't forget to stop under the mistletoe—you have to keep the tradition going."

Grinning, Argo pulled Crystalandra over to where the mistletoe hung above them, wrapped his muscular arms around her, and kissed his wife; a low moan escaped her lips.

"Uh guys it is supposed to be a chaste, friendly kiss under the mistletoe…Guys?" Galina's eyes grew round watching them.

"Leave them…Can't you see they're in love?" Ben whispered.

The Tiglon swept the she-cat off her feet and carried her up the staircase towards their room…

Rangerkitty awoke the next morning to the sensation of Tygra nibbling on her ear. His breath was warm and soft as it drifted over her neck, causing her to shiver in delight. The crispness of the air in the room contrasted deliciously with his warm kisses, and the sudden sensation caused Rangerkitty to start to feel aroused. She turned her body towards him and her lips sought his, and once she met them, he pressed into hers with a deep passionate kiss. This was the kind of kiss that she knew, usually preceded lovemaking. Happy to oblige, she kissed him back and moved on top of him as they continued to kiss and caress one another. Neither of them had bothered to re-dress after being intimate the night before; but had been content to simply hold each other as they slept that night. His warm body pressed up against hers had been all she had needed to stay warm during the night.

Rangerkitty lightly touched the polished banister of the maple wood staircase and let her fingers run down it as she descended the stairs into the main living room of the rustic mountain lodge. She smiled, seeing that the fire was still burning brightly in the hearth.

_I guess they always keep the fire going. How nice._

She wandered into the cozy room and admired the pine trees that had been decorated with lights that seemed to twinkle as she walked around them. Several ornaments had also been hung on the branches by small hooks or with colourful ribbons. Some were made of carved pieces of wood, seashells, or moulded out of clay and were painted with bright colors.

She looked to another tree that was closer to the fireplace and saw that this one was decorated with ornaments made of hand-blown glass. She was delighted as she saw snowflakes, snow bunnies, deer, trees and other works of glass art, some having tinctures of color in them to make them even more magnificent. These glass pieces reflected and shone, illuminated by the white lights that gleamed through them.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Came an unexpected voice. She looked over her shoulder to see the owner of the lodge standing a few feet behind her.

"They're wonderful." She agreed, turning back to admire the trees.

"Every winter solstice we receive these ornaments as gifts from our friends and often, from our guests. We have been collecting them since we first opened and decorate with them every year. Each tree holds so many special memories for me and my staff."

"That's a wonderful tradition…" she offered as she noticed that there was a glistening in the older man's eyes as he surveyed the room. She could tell that he saw not just decorated trees, but so many years of history, friendships, and memories.

"Will you and your friends be giving each other gifts this holiday? If so, I would like to invite you to do it here in this room where it is tradition for us to share the gift-giving. Both the guests and the staff can share in the celebration, and it gives the solstice a true atmosphere of friends and family."

Rangerkitty considered this. "That's a nice idea. I will be sure to tell my friends about it."

"We will have food and drink, as well as music. I do hope you choose to join us."

She thanked him for his kindness and politely excused herself as she saw Galina walking sleepily down the stairs, heading for the kitchen. As she followed her friend, she could not help but to notice that the white tigress' gait was slightly off. Holding the wall at times for support, Galina successfully made it to the dining area and made a beeline for a table in the front of the room that had coffee brewing. She selected a white mug and had started to fill it when she saw her friend approaching her. She took a second white mug off the pile and resumed what she was doing. "Hi RK."

"Well, good morning princess. Sleep well?"

Galina shook her head wordlessly as she placed the first mug down and pressed the knob on the urn, filling the second mug with the delicious smelling freshly brewed coffee.

"Did you sleep at _all_?"

Again, Galina shook her head and looked around for the cream. Rangerkitty picked up the small silver container and handed it to her, along with the bowl of sugar to save her the exertion of another bleary eyed search. Galina took them from her and added the cream and sugar to each cup and stirred them as she blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"So…. Was it too many late-night cocktails or did Bengali keep you busy all night? Or both?" Rangerkitty asked with a smirk.

"Neither." Galina answered crankily, taking both mugs with her as she walked away, stopping to sit down at a small table and began to drink the first one. Rangerkitty watched her and acquiesced that neither of those cups of coffee had been made for her, but as a refill and a saved return trip for her friend. She selected a cup and fixed one for herself, then joined her friend at the table.

"So why are you so tired?"

Galina moaned as she stretched and looked up. "We were having so much fun playing the charades and card games that we forgot the time. Argo and Crys finally left and we stayed up later. Even some of the staff came over and joined in. We stayed up really late… or really early."

"What time did you go to bed?"

"About an hour ago…"

"So what are you doing up, silly girl?"

"I'm hungry." Galina replied simply.

They both fell silent for a while and sipped at their coffee as they watched the snow falling outside and enjoyed the calm of the early morning. Except for the sound of the kitchen staff working behind closed doors and the sound of the crackling logs in the fireplace, the lodge was quiet.

The dining room was a long room, with windows framing one entire side. Each panel had a collection of snow, framing the bottom of each square of glass. There were several small tables and one large, long rectangular table that could seat up to ten people in the center of the room. It was intended for larger parties or for couples and singles to be able to sit together and eat as they became acquainted. It was lined with a red tablecloth and the folded red napkins were presented in gold napkin rings. Candlesticks adorned with holly leaves and winter berries became a centerpiece and the silverware and china were definitely the high end collection that must be reserved for special guests and for special occasions.

Rangerkitty felt her own stomach rumbling as she sensed the delicious aromas wafting in from the kitchen. Almost as soon as she'd been able to identify the menagerie of smells; scrambled eggs, bacon, cinnamon toast and fresh butter croissants, she heard the familiar sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

She smiled to herself. _Argo's awake…_ She turned to look as the large Tiglon entered the dining room and grinned as he spotted the two tigresses sitting together. Galina was slightly more dressed this morning, wearing a blue form-fitting body suit with a white belt and white furry boots that came up to her knees. Rangerkitty, on the other hand, wore a long sleeved black mock turtleneck, dark blue denim jeans, and a black belt along with black furry boots. Her long hair was unusually wavy and loose over her shoulders.

He approached the table as Rangerkitty stood to give him a hug. He hugged the pretty tigress around the waist and grinned. "Looking good Ranger, as always."

She smiled back coyly. "You too… as always."

At the sound of Argo's voice, Galina looked up and surveyed him up and down with wide eyes. She was suddenly much more awake. He wore a cream-color woven sweater over a plain white T-shirt, and wore the same jeans as he's had on the day before. Galina made a mental note to remember to sneak a peek when he turned around, remembering how fine his behind looked in those pants.

As she looked him over he grinned. "Do I meet your approval?"

Suddenly embarrassed, she turned back to her coffee and shrugged indifferently. "Eh, you look alright." she said dismissively, hoping he had not seen her cheeks flush.

_Argo, you're torturing her!_

He raised his eyebrows and looked innocently at Rangerkitty. "Who me? I don't know what you're talking about. Never would I do such a thing."

The white tigress polished off her second cup and left the table to get 2 more refills. Argo looked around. Seeing no one and no food in sight, he looked at Rangerkitty. "Where's breakfast?"

"Cooking. Where is Crystalandra?"

"Sleeping. She needs her beauty sleep, all you women do." Pausing, he noticed the glare that Rangerkitty was giving him. "Er, present company excluded, of course!"

"Nice recovery."

They both looked up to see Tygra approaching them. He was dressed similarly to Rangerkitty, but had pulled a black cable-knit sweater over the shirt.

"Hey Cuz! Good morning!"

"Good morning. What's on today's itinerary?"

"Well, hopefully it's starting with breakfast, if it _ever becomes ready_!" Argo called loudly in the direction of the kitchen.

"Argo!" Rangerkitty exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Don't be rude! It's not their fault that we got here so early!"

The Tiglon growled softly under his breath and strode over to the coffee table to join Galina to make himself a cup.

Tygra took the advantage of being alone with his mate for a moment. He slipped his hands around her waist and held her as he stood behind her and nuzzled her neck. "You left the bedroom while I was still in the shower. I came out and you were gone."

"I knew you'd find me, babe. If I'd still been in bed when you were done washing, you know we would have both missed breakfast.

_Well that's true_. He kissed her neck and released her. They went to sit down at the larger table and were joined by Galina and Argo who sat across from them. Several waitresses emerged from the kitchen, laden with covered trays of steaming food. Their mouths were watering as the trays were set down and the covers were removed to reveal all of the items that Rangerkitty had correctly identified earlier. Scrambled eggs, thick cuts of French toast, a plate of crispy bacon strips, a platter of warm croissants and a bowl of fresh cut winter fruit.

The ThunderCats helped themselves to generous helpings of the food as Rangerkitty looked over at the empty staircase. "What about Crys and Ben? Shouldn't we wait for them?"

"We will keep breakfast warm for them, milady." The butler offered as he refreshed all of their coffee cups. "Please enjoy your meal."

No sooner was this said that they heard footsteps rapidly descending; Argo looked up beaming when he saw Crystalandra appear. She had smelled the breakfast and had immediately awakened to join in the repast and boy was her appetite raging after spending an energetic night with her Tiglon. Rangerkitty, Galina, and Tygra were taken aback seeing how absolutely radiant Crys appeared. The Sh'iar queen was wearing a lilac coloured oversized shaker knit sweater over a pair of skin tight black leggings and laced up combat boots. Her purple mane was tied back in a high pony tail that curled softly around her face, her attitude was quite relaxed as she stood before the group grinning.

"Good morning I hope everyone slept well!"

"Very well thank you!" Ranger and Tygra both answered noticing the high colour in her cheeks; Galina merely grumbled her response.

"Oh dear it seems someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." The she-cat mused, pulling a chair over to sit beside Argo who made room for her.

"Oh it's nothing like that at all Crys." The orange tigress commented buttering her savoury croissant. "It seems after you two left Gali and Ben stayed up and continued playing with the staff…"

Gali yawned, "I only managed an hours worth of sleep."

The hybrid and her mate exchanged subtle glances with each other as neither had slept either, but felt invigorated from their night of passion. Crys reached over to snag a piece of bacon from Argo's heaping plate and was immediately awarded with a light slap to her hand.

She blinked at him in surprise. "So I can't help myself to a little slice from your plate?"

"Marozi, if you are hungry there's a buffet over there where you can choose what you want." He replied shovelling scrambled eggs and toast into his mouth. "This is mine."

"All right but you don't have to be so territorial about it." The she-cat grumbled rising out of her chair; however, Crys ran her hand affectionately through the Tiglon's mane ruffling it.

Rangerkitty, Tygra, and Galina chuckled over the mock fight.


	7. Chapter 8

9

Chapter Eight

"So you guys. Hold on to your seats, because I have the greatest idea EVER!"

"Uh oh…" they all said in unison as they studied Galina and sat back in their chairs. Tygra actually held onto his. Rangerkitty put her utensils down.

"Whaaaat?" Galina whined, exasperated. "How do you know this is a bad idea? It's awesome!"

"Like the time you decided for us all to go cliff jumping at the same time and left all of our supplies at the top of the cliff? We had to climb through brambles, thorns and poison sumac to retrieve our clothes!" Rangerkitty remembered, scratching her forearm at the thought.

"Or the time you decided to go swimming off the Coast of Isolation Island and never bothered to anchor the boat? We would have drowned in the currents if Lion-O hadn't rescued us in the Feliner by following the GPS data from our locator insignias!" Tygra volunteered.

Galina gasped at the two of them. "Honestly…" then smiled at Argo and winked. "I promise. This one is _much_ better." Getting excited she wiggled in her seat, looking much like a young child who was bursting to finally reveal a long-kept secret.

They waited patiently for her to reveal her idea as Crystalandra returned from the beverage table, holding a steaming cup of tea and a saucer in her hands. Bengali could now be heard coming down the stairs. The room had grown eerily silent.

"The lodge is holding their annual polar plunge!"

Rangerkitty and Tygra's mouth fell open. Crystalandra stopped in her tracks and even Bengali came to a pause on the stairs and grew wide eyed. "Really?" he called from across the room. He jumped over the banister, forgetting the rest of the stairs as he landed and rushed across the room to Galina's chair, where he hugged her around the shoulders from behind. "I haven't done one of those in like, forever! I'm in!"

Tygra looked at Rangerkitty who was seated next to him. "What about you baby? Feeling adventurous today?"

"I usually chicken out when it comes to these things." She admitted, and then turned to Galina whose sapphire blue eyes were dancing with excitement. Rangerkitty made some sounds, trying to find the right word to decline the invitation, but her friend worked her magic with her beautiful eyes, which were pleading and wide as saucers. Rangerkitty gave up and exhaled. _sigh_ "I'm in too."

Galina clapped happily and looked over at Argo. "How about you, stud?"

The Tiglon had been busy working on a stack of French toast dripping in fresh maple syrup. At the sound of his name, he looked up and waved his fork in a circle, nodding and smiling with a mouthful of food. "Mm-mmph."

"Huh?" Bengali asked.

Argo swallowed and took a long drink of winter fruit juice to help the food go down. Finally able to speak, he wiped his mouth with his napkin and grinned. "Sure. You know me. I'm up for anything."

"What exactly does a _polar plunge_ entail?" Crystalandra inquired. She hadn't moved from where she was standing, a few feet away from the table.

"Well," Galina began, oblivious to the suspicion in Crystalandra's voice. "It's sometimes done for charity, as a dare, and sometimes just for fun! We all line up, and at the sound of a whistle or gun, we all race into the water!"

"I don't get it. What's so special about that?" she asked, remembering the heated pool and hot tub she had seem downstairs the day before.

Tygra cleared his throat, drawing her attention to him. "Erm, Crystalandra, the point of doing the plunge is to receive an adrenaline rush which happens in response to sudden extreme changes in core body temperature."

_Ex-cuse_ me?"

Bengali stood up and turned to face the Sh'iar queen. "Crys, usually we'd run into the ocean, but as we are currently up in the mountains, we'll be using the lake."

"The lake…. The _**frozen**_ lake?"

He nodded and all the ThunderCats jumped in their chairs at the sound of her teacup and saucer shattering on the hard tile floor.

"ARE YOU ALL CRAZY?!" she demanded with blazing eyes. She stomped her foot and clenched her fists in defiance... "THERE IS _**NO**_ WAY YOU ARE GETTING ME TO JUMP INTO AN ICE FILLED WATERY DEATH TRAP! _FOR FUN, NO LESS!_"

"Marozi, please calm down. No one said you have to go in too. You can come along and watch, you know, be our moral support." Argo offered from his seat.

"More likely to come and laugh at us." Rangerkitty added quietly.

"I don't want you cutting up holes in the lake! I enjoyed ice skating on it! It will be ruined!"

"There's more than one lake up here." Bengali informed her. "The one for the plunge is quite close to the mountain lodge. Your skating rink will remain untouched. No worries."

Crys shook her head vehemently. "I don't care! No—No—NO! And as for _YOU_…" She turned towards the Tiglon, pointing a finger in his face. "If Galina suggested that you try jumping off a cliff you would do it!"

"Come to think of it you know… I would." Argo nodded with a huge grin on his face. He stood and carefully avoiding the broken saucer on the floor, he took the angry hybrid into his arms. She struggled at first but then relented as he used his empathic senses to calm her. "You can watch from the safety of the shore bundled in your warmest fur coat." He kissed her cheek. "Then when I finish my dunk you can warm me up with your body heat…What do you say?"

Crys sighed; there was no way she could say no to Argo…He knew what buttons to push to get her to agree to his crazy schemes. "All right…I'll come and watch you all make fools of yourself…But I'm warning you Lee, don't come crying to me when you've realized you've bitten off more than you can chew."

"I love it when you speak to me in metaphors…" He purred nuzzling her neck.

She relaxed a little, and once he released her, she bent her knees and began to retrieve the broken pieces of china from the floor where her cup and saucer had shattered. A waitress hurried out to help, bringing a kitchen rag along with her to help clean up the spill.

"I'm very sorry." Crystalandra apologised to the woman.

"Not a problem, my lady."

Crystalandra did not bother to correct the girl to refer to her using her proper title, but stood and took a seat next to her mate and began to serve herself breakfast. She looked at Argo and sighed. "I still say you're insane. You'll lose all your fingers and toes. What will you have left to caress me with?"

He waved her off. "Nah, I'll be fine. It'll be fun! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Well, when you have repelling races down the inside of an active volcano, go ahead and sign me up."

Argo leaned over and planted a loud wet kiss on her cheek. "Mmmwhaa!"

The sleigh was pulled by a pair of brown and white horses, pulled away from the lodge with its six guests seated in the two facing benches. They started down to the lake, which was approximately a quarter mile from the cabin. Argo surveyed the area as they traveled; deciding that the lake he could see in the distance ahead must be a haven during the summer months. It would be a delightful escape from the heat for water sports, swimmers and sunbathers alike. Now, it was frozen solid, and he could see that a section of the ice along the shoreline had been cut out and removed. The area spanned approximately fifty feet across and 30 feet out from the shore.

There were picnic tables set up with large kegs of warm water for tea and coffee, a machine to keep warm towels in, and a radio with multiple speakers was blaring fun party music that became louder as the ThunderCats drew nearer. Rangerkitty leaned forward and pointed to where a photographer was setting up a tripod with a camera mounted upon it.

"Did you all see the wall in the dining room with all of the photographs? They take one every year with all the participants in their annual polar plunge. We're going to be in this year's picture!"

"Not all of us." Crystalandra muttered with her arms folded, leaning back in her seat.

No one bothered to respond to this comment as they all were simply taking in the festivities and enjoyable atmosphere that awaited them a short way ahead. The horses began to slow down as they had a slight incline to go over and began pulling harder with more purposeful strides to pull the sleigh. Crystalandra looked back from where they had started and was startled at just how short a distance it was back to the main house. Tygra noticed the direction of her gaze and deduced what she must be thinking.

"True, normally it would be a short walk back, but after having the body's muscles exposed to the extreme cold, they will contract and tense up, sometimes causing cramping and making it difficult to walk and perform other purposeful movement until they return to a normal temperature."

"So I repeat my argument that the five of you have lost your collective minds."

He grinned and looked out at the lake. Sure enough, in the 30x50 foot cut-out, there were smaller pieces of ice floating in the frigid blue waters like miniature icebergs. He chuckled. "I agree. Collective mind would be the exact thing to call it. Personally, as a scientist, I know the physical and physiological repercussions of what I'm about to do. It weighs heavily on my logical side, believe me, but sometimes I have to remember to ignore that and recognise that people have been doing this for centuries; and in the spirit of togetherness and fun, it's important to sometimes ignore the logic and join in the enjoyment with the rest of the tribe."

Crystalandra cocked her head slightly to the side as she studied the tiger. "Funny how I have never seen this side of you before now, Tygra."

"Well, I am glad you are finally taking a look. I _can_ actually be fun to be around, you see?"

"I see." She smiled as he pulled out a picnic basket and opened the lid so she could peer inside at the contents.

"Keeps us feeling warm." He grinned, winking at her, causing her to smile.

Rangerkitty had been watching this interaction and finally sent Tygra a silent message using her mind power. _Are you flirting?_

_What? No_… He thought back, looking at her with a furrowed brow and closed the lid of the basket.

_You were so just flirting with her Tygra._

_You're imagining things, Ranger_.

He stood once the sleigh came to a stop, placed the basket in his seat and climbed out, holding out a hand to assist Galina to exit, then held it back up for Rangerkitty. She took it and hopped out, but Tygra did not release her. Instead, he pulled her close to him. Argo hopped out the other side where Bengali and Crystalandra also exited the sleigh.

"I thought you were happy that Crys and I are getting along."

She exhaled and looked away briefly. "I am. It's just weird. The way you're looking at each other… it's like, puppy love."

"No… it's like new friends…New family. We're _more_ than just getting along. We actually are finding that we truly like one another, but that is very different from the way I feel about you and extremely different from the way I look at you."

She gazed up into his warm amber eyes and saw just what he meant. The look of desire, love and adoration that she recognised in his eyes…that was all for her, and none of those things had been there when he'd been conversing with the Sh'iar. She moved closer and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry. I love you."

"You're sorry you love me?" he grinned, knowing that she'd swat at him for making a joke.

She pulled away and swatted at him. "Silly tiger."

"Sillier tigress." He smiled and leaned over to keep her a quick kiss. Standing up, he retrieved the basket and took her hand, indicating to the lake. "Well, shall we?"

Galina was excitedly bouncing from foot to foot as the rest of the gang caught up with her. Bengali quickly grabbed himself a cup of hot tea, determined to warm himself internally as much as possible. Like Galina, he was highly tolerant of the cold, but had not done extreme temperature plunges like this since he had been a boy. There was no way he was going to lose face and stay in less time than Tygra or Argo.

Several members of the staff had elected to form their own team and participate. Most were from the ski and recreation team, although Rangerkitty recognised one of the waitresses, a housekeeper and even the owner of the lodge was there! He was seated at one of the tables, smiling and beaming at the smiles he saw on everyone's faces. She paused and took that view in for a moment, saving it to memory. While he was an older man, it was obvious that he was taking good care of himself physically and probably had many more good years left to enjoy activities like this. Bengali saw Rangerkitty having a silent moment and wandered over to her with a hot cup of tea, handing it to her. She accepted it from him and shared the story of her conversation with the owner that she'd had earlier that morning.

"That's really cool. We should make some ornaments to give him on the solstice as thanks for this trip. I have some extra material left over from what I was using to make everyone's gifts. I could come up with something really nice I bet."

'Yes, that would be wonderful. If I can get my hands on some needle and thread or yarn I can make something too…"

"Maybe later today we can check out the gift shop or a local market to see what we can find."

"Great idea, Bengali. Thanks."

Tygra called his friends over to where he and Crystalandra were standing by an empty picnic table. Crystalandra had taken the wool blanket from the sleigh and had it wrapped around her, keeping most of it under her so she would not be sitting on the cold wooden bench.

"What's up, cousin?" Argo asked, being the last to arrive. He looked down at the tray Tygra had arranged and raised his bushy eyebrows. "What's this? Drinks before noon?"

"It's part of the tradition." Tygra informed him. "Besides it'll make you feel a whole lot warmer." He added, passing a double sized shot glass out to each of his friends, including one for Crystalandra. He raised his and they did the same. "Here's to being reckless, under supervised conditions!"

Rangerkitty just began laughing and Galina lowered her glass, putting her other hand on her hip. "Really Tygra. That's the BEST you can come up with?"

He exhaled dramatically. "_Fine_ then, Gali. You do the toast then!"

"I shall!" She raised her glass and the others did the same. Tygra raised his as well. "ThunderCats SNOOOOOOWWWW!"

Argo laughed and swallowed his drink and the others did the same, immediately feeling the warming effects of the Thunderian whiskey. Rangerkitty coughed at the strength of it and Argo, Ben and Galina held their glasses out for more. Tygra refilled them along with his own and they all chorused "Snooowww!" again before drinking.

The Master of Ceremonies announced that the plunge was about to begin, and instructed the participants to get ready and line up at the starting line, which had been marked with small colourful flags. The photographer was taking random impromptu shots at this point, capturing the event in the lodge's history.

The ThunderCats undressed and placed their clothes on the table beside Crystalandra who made a show of wrapping the blanket around herself tighter and having another steaming cup of hot tea. She climbed off the bench seat and sat upon the table for a better view. Tygra hovered around the table longest and Crystalandra noticed out of the corner of her eye that he leaned down with the bottle of whiskey and chugged quite a few mouthfuls down, before taking a sip of tea and standing to join the others. Baffled by this, she watched as they all lined up and waited for the starting pistol to fire.

"On your marks! Get set….. PLUNGE!" called the MC as he squeezed the trigger on the pistol which fired a bright red flare into the sky.

All the participants shouted aloud as they threw off their fleeces and blankets, running straight for the water. Crystalandra cringed as she watched, and saw them all hit the water as their yells went from loud to shrill. Galina, Bengali and Tygra dove in headfirst once they were deep enough, while Rangerkitty and Argo did modified belly flops.

Surfacing, Argo gasped, feeling like he only had half the room in his chest to inhale air, while Rangerkitty already felt her arms, spasming. She did her best to stand up, and found that the air felt twice as cold as the water did, so allowed herself to sink back in to being shoulder deep. Finding his breath, Argo roared and found his footing, standing straight up. "This is freezing!"

"Told ya so!" Crystalandra called out melodically from the shore under her warm blanket.

He growled at her sarcasm and looked down seeing Rangerkitty struggling with the extreme cold. She had lost a lot of body fat when she'd trained to become a ThunderCat, replacing it with muscle, and thus had very little insulation to keep her warm. "Are you okay, Ranger?"

"Cold…" was all she could get out.

He leaned down and lifted her up in his arms, carrying her out of the water to the shore where they were met with a warm blanket from one of the ski instructors. "I've got her, sir."

Argo set her down and looked back out at the others. Galina was waving and doing the backstroke as though the waters were warm and tropical. "Come back in Argo! You don't see _these two_ running for the shore, do you?"

The Tiglon looked and saw Tygra and Bengali were still out there and growled, not wanting to be bested by tigers smaller than himself. He ran back into the icy water and pounced on the two of them, making all of them submerge under the water. After a moment, he stood straight up, gasping for breath as Tygra and Bengali also emerged, laughing and wiping the water out of their eyes. As Galina swam by, Tygra pounced on her and Bengali splashed water at the Tiglon who was quickly losing his stamina.

"Are you two… done yet?" he panted, seeing his breath as he exhaled in the cold air.

Bengali answered him as he pounced on both Galina and Tygra, causing them both to dunk under water again. With that, Argo turned and strode purposefully out of the lake, walking past the people who were offering him towels and blankets at the shoreline. Starting to gain momentum, he started to run and dashed past the entire gathering of people. Rangerkitty and Crystalandra who were seated together atop one of the picnic tables looked up in surprise as the enormous Sh'iar raced past them and straight into the woods, heading for the mountain lodge.

"Argo!" Rangerkitty called after him, concerned. She stood up on the bench and watched him disappear past the tree line and then looked down at Crystalandra. "What on Third Earth is he doing? Where is he going?"

Crys was chuckling to herself. "I'll give you one guess. It's round and bubbly and full of hot water."

_The hot tubs_. Rangerkitty realized and sat back down. She was starting to dry off, but still felt very cold. She had started shivering, which was uncomfortable, but she knew it was her body's attempt to warm herself back up. As her teeth began to chatter, she tried to keep her jaw clenched, and leaned forward to try and keep her core as warm as possible. A moment later, a familiar bare white chest appeared in her line of sight. She looked up to see Tygra standing before her with a hot cup of tea and a package under his arm.

She accepted the tea and tried not to spill it as her hands were still shaking, but her fingers savoured the warmth emanating from the cup. Tygra opened the package and pulled out warm clothes that had been in a thermal pack he'd brought with them in the sleigh. He pulled warm boots onto her feet, assisted her into warm gloves, and pulled the cold wet blanket off her and replaced it with a heated fleece.

"Better?"

"Much better." She smiled, glad the shivering had stopped. "You think of everything, my love."

"Ok, solve a mystery for me." Crys interrupted, "Because this is making me crazy. How on earth did you tolerate the cold for that long? Isn't your species from the jungles and rainforests where it's always warm?"

Tygra grinned. "Elementary, my dear Crystalandra. Remember the discussion we had earlier, about understanding physics and physiology? I simply used science and biology to my advantage. By drinking the Thunderian whiskey, I caused my skin to flush and start to allow my body to lose heat early on, thereby lowering my core temperature. I actually had a few drinks before we left the lodge, and a few more here. I also did not dress heavily. By having a lower core temperature, and by slowing down my internal processes, the cold was not as much of a shock to my system, allowing me to tolerate it longer."

"What happened to our discussion earlier about ignoring logic and having fun with the tribe?"

"Oh, I still did that. I jumped in didn't I? I just maximized my experience is all."

The she-cat rolled her eyes, but internally had to give the tiger credit. He was smart all right.

Rangerkitty looked up at Tygra. "I thought you said the drinks would help us feel warm."

"Well my love, they DO make you feel warm, but realistically, they make you lose heat faster. That's why I didn't drink any hot fluids when we got here."

She rolled her eyes as well, and then noticed that everyone had left the water except for Galina and Bengali. She stood up and put her hands around her mouth as she called out to them. "Will you two be rejoining us sometime today?"

Bengali heard her and tapped Galina on her shoulder, as she was floating on her back with her ears submerged in the cold water. She righted herself and smiled at him. "Did we win? Are we the last out?"

"Yep. " He grinned, starting to feel very cold. "Let's head back in for the photo."

"Aww, do we have to? It's soooo nice out here..." she smiled seductively, treading water. "I wouldn't mind if they all left you and me alone out here."

He smiled, "Oh, Gali, don't tease me. If you get me too exited in this freezing water, I'll be no good to you for days…"

She batted her eyelashes at him as he turned and took her hand pulling her out of the water behind him. She floated on her back until the water became quite shallow, then stood up and walked. Reaching the shore, they ran forward to join the others who had gathered on the bank of the frozen lake in their towels. Looking up at the photographer he gave the signal and they all shouted and smiled as he took their photograph.


	8. Chapter 9

4

Chapter Nine

The housekeepers were stocking the carts inside the pool room with freshly folded white towels. As the brunette girl finished filling her cabinet, she closed it up and stood up to stretch her back when she saw the largest and most handsome man she had ever seen. His thick mane was multicoloured with shades of red, orange, bronze and blond, mixed with the fierce black stripes of the tiger clan. It blew in the breeze as he ran, and as he drew closer, her heart began to race at the sight of him. She nudged her friend who looked up and gasped at the sight of the bare-chested Tiglon who was running directly towards them, barefoot in the snow.

Figuring he was heading for the warmth of the inside of the lodge, they each reached forward to pull open the French doors that would allow him entry. The Tiglon saw the two women and the swimming pool just beyond them, but he had his sights set on a much more desirable destination. Without stopping, he ran directly towards the Jacuzzi that had steam rising off the water's surface.

The housemaid gasped and called out to him, "My lord! You must enter the water slowly! It's going to feel terribly hot!"

Water splashed everywhere as Argo jumped right into the hot water and roared again as his skin and fur felt like it had been both scalded and set on fire. Terrified for their lives, the maids screamed and ran back into the building, leaving the doors swinging shut, but did not lock. Argo hurriedly pulled himself out of the round in-ground tub and rolled onto the cold stone patio, still feeling the pain shooting through every neuron in his skin. Managing to get to his hands and knees, he pushed the glass-paned doors back open, crawled inside and fell sideways into the pool water. Although the pool was heated, it felt by no means hot, but its ambient temperature dulled the pain that had been coursing through him. He held onto the side of the pool in relief and exhaustion as he remained buoyant in the deep end, allowing his hands, feet, and the rest of him to thaw out slowly.

As he slowly became acclimated to the water, he looked around and sighed, glad that none of his friends, or his mate had seen that production. After a few minutes, he decided to give the hot tub another try. This time he grabbed a large white towel from the rack and wrapped it around him before stepping outside. He turned on the water jets and watched as powerful thrusters caused the Jacuzzi water to begin to swirl and bubble. He gently and slowly eased himself into the effervescent pool and sighed contentedly.

_Now this is more like it!_

He dunked his head under water and surfaced, then ran his fingers through his mane and rested his head on the edge of the hot tub, feeling bliss, relaxation, and warmth.

Upstairs in the guest suites, Rangerkitty was changing her clothes when she noticed Galina standing by the window, with both panes of glass opened and out. Cold wind was whipping inside, letting the heat from the fire out. "Gali! For Jaga's sake! If you want to have the windows open, do it in your own room!"

"Oh, but you have a _much_ better view from your window than I have from mine." Galina replied dreamily, not moving from where she was standing and looking out.

Confused, knowing Galina had a great view of the mountain range from her suite; Rangerkitty went to the window to see what she was talking about. Expecting to simply see the patio and the covered tables and chairs, the tigress gasped at the sight down below. Sitting alone and waist deep in the hot tub was Argo, bare-chested and magnificent as ever. His eyes were closed and his hands were behind his head as he rested it against the side of the tub. Steam rose around him, swirling and dissipating into the air, making the scene seem ethereal, as though it were part of a dream. For a few moments, the two of them simply stood there and admired him until Galina broke the silence.

"I think I'm in the mood for a swim." Galina pulls off her shirt to reveal her swimsuit

"You just _went_ swimming." Rangerkitty pulls off hers as well

"I feel like warming up." Galina steps out of her boots and pants

"You _hate_ hot temperatures." Rangerkitty does the same and steps between Galina and the door

"I'm going down to the hot tub to drool over Argo at arm's length. _How's that?_!"

Rangerkitty pushed her and grabbed the doorknob. "_Not if I get there first_!"

She dashed out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her. Startled, Galina pulled the door open and gave chase. Rangerkitty had made it down the hall and had grabbed the banister of the staircase, whipping around to descend the stairs. Galina vaulted over the banister and landed in front of Ranger and pushed her against the wall, gaining the advantage and rushed down ahead of her. Growling, Rangerkitty ran down as well, and slid down the banister at the landing, conveniently landing on top of Galina and knocked her to the carpeted floor. She jumped up off of her and ran towards the back of the lodge where the pool was located. Hearing fast footsteps approaching quickly behind her, she quickened her pace and broke in to a sprint and they entered the room with the indoor pool.

Two waiters were setting the tables inside the pool's indoor courtyard when the two tigresses came dashing inside. They looked up in surprise and tried to call out caution as to the wet floor that had just been mopped. Too late, they gasped as both Galina and Rangerkitty lost their footing and began to slip and trip, but had not slowed down. They fell and began to slide together quickly towards the glass doors, certain to crash into them. Acting on instinct, the waiters each grabbed a door and opened it, allowing the tigresses to slide right out of the room, across the frozen ice-covered patio and into a snowdrift just past where the deck chairs were normally located. They hit the bushes causing the snow that had settled on top to be knocked off. The snow landed on top of the girls' heads and shoulders, covering them in frozen white powder and red berries. The waiters hurriedly closed the doors and ran for the cover of the locker room so they would not be identified as the two ThunderCats dusted themselves off.

"Well _**that**_ was embarrassing." Rangerkitty groaned, picking berries out of Galina's hair.

"Yeah, lucky for us, no one saw that."

"Ahem… ohhhh… someone _**saw**_ that all right!" Came Argo's bemused voice.

The tigresses looked over and saw him leaning on the side of the hot tub, grinning at them. "And it was darn funny!" he called out louder, laughing throatily now.

Rangerkitty scowled and stood up, dusting herself off as Galina grinned and also got up to her feet. "You got room in there for two more, mister?" she asked with her hands on her hips and her brightest pearly white smile.

He smiled back, admiring the two swimsuit-clad beauties and stood up slowly, "For you two? You better believe it."

Both women slowly sucked in their breath as the Tiglon stood. Steam rose off his sculpted body as he stood waist deep in the bubbling hot water. Drops of water dripped down his neck and shoulders, heading down, along with their gazes. His swim trunks were hanging low on his pelvis, and they could see his amazingly ripped washboard stomach, along with the suggestive lines that ran down from his hips. Seeing that they had not yet moved, he motioned with his hand for them to come closer.

"Come on, girls. I don't bite."

"Pity…" Galina whispered, then winced as Rangerkitty elbowed her. "Ow!"

"Gali! _Seriously!_" she hissed.

"What?! Don't say it's not a pity!" she whispered back as they arrived at the side of the tub. Rangerkitty went to step in when Argo held his hands up and cautioned her.

"Uh, may I suggest you ease yourself in? It's much more comfortable that way."

_That's what she said_… Galina thought to herself with a grin as she sat down on the side of the tub and dipped her feet, then her lower legs into the hot bubbling water. Rangerkitty did the same, then slipped in so she was waist deep, then submerged herself to her shoulders.

"Ahhhhh, this feels sooooo good…" she sighed.

_That's what… oh forget it_! Galina thought to herself and scowled as she saw Argo put an arm up on the rim on the round tub behind Rangerkitty's shoulders. Her red-haired friend relaxed her head back on the hybrid's muscular left arm and grinned with bliss.

"This is the life. Oh Argo, what a brilliant idea."

_Oh Argo, what a brilliant idea, Argo! Oh Argo, why don't I snuggle with you while my friend Galina who has sworn to keep her hands off you has to watch us, Argo? _Galina began arguing with herself inside her own head, bobbing it back and forth in sarcasm, not noticing the strange looks the other two were giving her as they watched this strange display. Finally, Argo chose to interrupt Galina's thoughts with herself.

"Galina, are you all right?"

Snapping back into reality, she looked at him with brilliant eyes and a glowing smile, "Never better!"

"Then why not join us over here?" he asked, holding up his right arm out of the water. "I have a free arm here, and what could be better than having a beautiful woman on both sides?"

Galina gasped and looked around, then back at Argo. "Oh…. Um, I don't know…"

"Aw, come on… that whole _look but don't touch thing_ was a long time ago. I'm sure it's not still expected, especially as we're all so much closer now. What do you say?" he coaxed her, grinning with that award winning smile of his.


	9. Chapter 10

6

Chapter Ten

In the upstairs lounge, Tygra had selected a change of clothes for Rangerkitty as well as for himself. She had mentioned that she'd wanted to warm up in the hot tubs for a while before lunch. He'd been informed upon returning to the lodge that Argo was out there already, so Crystalandra had said that she was going to change into swimwear and get her mate a fresh set of clothes to change into as well.

Tygra sat in one of the comfortable deep arm chairs, feeling the room spinning slightly; a side effect from the larger than normal amount of whiskey he'd imbibed that morning. Pleased that he'd managed to outdo his cousin by staying in the cold water longer, he grinned and rested his head back on the cushioned furniture. A few minutes passed until he heard someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw Bengali arrive and flop down into a chair across from him.

"Dude, you're hard core. I can't believe you stayed in the water as long as you did."

"Thanks." Tygra grinned and reclosed his eyes as he rested his head back again. "You did pretty good yourself out there. I know it's been a while for you."

"Well, speaking of a while, it's gonna be a while before _all_ of me warms back up."

Tygra chuckled. "Well, maybe a little time in the hot tub will help cure that. You've got an incredibly hot girlfriend who can set any man aflame with those eyes and that body of hers. I'm not too concerned about your ability to perform."

They sat quietly together until they heard Crystalandra approach them. Tygra re-opened his eyes to see Bengali gaping and practically drooling over what he was looking at. Tygra turned and thought he was seeing double, or seeing something that wasn't there. He rubbed his eyes and when his vision cleared, he saw that he had seen right. Something wasn't there…Crystalandra's clothes.

She smiled as she modeled her new sequinned lavender bikini for the two tigers as they sat before her, dumfounded and captivated at the sight of her.

Bengali stammered and gulped. "Wha….wow…"

Tygra blinked a couple of times as she turned around, showing it off—he had to admit her physique was…simply amazing. "Well…What do you think?" She asked brightly.

"Where are your clothes, Crys?"

She stopped and looked at him motioning, "In my bag here, along with clothes for Argo. What's the problem?"

"I don't see a problem at all…" Bengali said without thinking, shaking his head slightly. _God's she was stacked!_

"My dear…" Tygra offered, standing up as he held the arms of the chair for assistance. "The hot tub is outside, and knowing your disfavour of the ice and snow, don't you think it would be appropriate to cover up?"

"Oh…I wasn't thinking…Actually I didn't think it would be necessary." Crys replied blushing. "My bathing suit being quite miniscule won't protect me from the cold, will it? Thanks for the warning, Tygra."

"Yeah thanks for the warning." Ben grumbled; he had wanted to ogle the statuesque she-cat in her bikini…Argo was one lucky devil.

"No matter…" Being ever the gentleman, the orange tiger shrugged out of the overcoat he was wearing and held it open for Crystalandra to put on. "That will keep you warm until you're safely in the hot tub."

"Thank you Tygra." She smiled slipping it on.

Crys stood on the concrete floor alongside Tygra and Bengali watching the trio in the Jacuzzi—Rangerkitty and Galina were snuggled comfortably against the Tiglon with contended smiles etched on their faces.

"My... this certainly is cozy." The hybrid quipped huddling in Tygra's coat. "Enjoying yourself, Argo?"

"Uh hmmmm…." He sighed lost to the soothing warmth of the pool and because his eyes were closed he didn't see his wife's dour expression. "This is heaven…"

RK, who had been contentedly luxuriating beside the Tiglon, opened her eyes when she heard the edge in Crystalandra's voice. _Uh oh…_The smile fell from her face when she observed the Sh'iar queen sporting a teeny tiny bikini that basically revealed how fit the she-cat was! The tigress elbowed Argo who remained blissfully unaware of the situation.

"Crys, there is plenty of room for you to join us…come on in…" He invited.

"No…That's all right…Three is already a crowd." Her response was neutral as she walked past the group towards the pool. "Well since the hot tub is fully occupied Bengali, I suggest we move over to the heated pool." Tossing her purple mane, she removed the loaned coat, tossed it onto a lounge chair and dove in—Bengali wasn't far behind and grinning from ear to ear, he joined her.

Tygra observed the cosy trio, "You look quite relaxed there cousin—having a good time with your company?"

The Tiglon opened his eyes grinning. "What more can a man ask for? I am lucky to have two very beautiful tigresses in my presence."

"…And add one jealous wife to the equation."

"What?" Argo asked confused. "Why would she be jealous?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Tygra pointed to the adjacent pool; the Tiglon craned his neck to see what his cousin was talking about.

Rangerkitty reached across the Tiglon to pinch Galina who was happily cuddling against Argo's chest.

"Gali—you had better check this out."

"What is it?" The white tigress groaned. "Can't you see I'm comfortable?"

"Yeah and so is Bengali... in the pool...with Crys!"

"What are you saying?!" Galina shot upright and stared with her mouth open. Sure enough there was the white tiger in the adjacent pool with Crystalandra and he was fixing the tie on her bikini top! Talk about being up close and personal! She gritted her teeth, "BEN!"

This action didn't go unnoticed by the Tiglon. _What are you doing?! _Argo sent growling his displeasure.

_If you can have fun with the tigresses then why can't I with Bengali? _She challenged. _What's good for the goose is good for the gander._

_Come on Crys I thought we were beyond that?! We are all friends here…_

_Are we? You make it seem like more!_

_What?!_

The butler came outside before the group informing them that lunch was ready to be served which saved further arguments from occurring. Without a word, the she-cat emerged from the pool, flicked water from her mane, and exited walking daintily past her astounded husband into the main lodge without stopping to put on a coat!

Tygra helped RK out of the Jacuzzi and handed her the package of clothing that he had brought for her which she gratefully accepted.

"Thank you hun…" She watched guiltily as Crys disappeared. "Wow she was really angry…Gali and I didn't mean anything…we were just keeping Argo company."

"I know…" The tiger answered. "You should understand by now Ranger how possessive Crystalandra is over her mate and him of her." Tygra nodded towards Argo who was glaring furiously at Ben.

Rangerkitty couldn't help but feel bad. "…And we were all getting along so well, too."

"I think I should be able to salvage the situation…You finish changing and try to maintain peace between everybody."

"Where are you going?"

Tygra sighed. "To try and reason with Crys…"

The orange tiger stood outside Crystalandra's room and rapped softly against the wooden double doors.

"Go away, Liargo!" She promptly answered. "I don't want to see you!"

"Please Crys…It's me Tygra…May I speak with you?"

He heard silence, then the sound of her stomping towards the door. The handle was unlocked, followed by more stomping, then silence again. The door remained shut so he assumed he was to let himself in. "You may enter…" The Sh'iar queen called, more softly than before.

Tygra entered the room and was surprised by its enormity—he should have known that his cousin would have booked only the best for his wife. It was richly decorated with a huge canopy bed in the center and an opulent fireplace that kept the room pleasantly warm. The she-cat was standing before the huge bay window, still clad in her bikini.

"Well Tygra what did you want to speak to me about?"

He smiled at her. "It's nice to see that you are properly dressed for the weather." If he had been hoping to get a chuckle out of her, it didn't work; her face remained stoic. The tiger cleared his throat. "About what happened downstairs…"

"There is absolutely nothing to discuss." She said dismissively. "I've decided that since I am a bore that I will remain here in my room for the duration of the trip."

"No Crystalandra, you will not…"

"I beg your pardon?!" The she-cat gasped in surprise. "What did you say to me?"

Tygra squared back his shoulders. "You heard me Crys. You are not going to spend the rest of your vacation in hiding. Besides, do you really want to deny me the pleasure of your company just after we have decided that we actually like one another?"

Crys glanced away. "It's all right—you don't have to pretend that you like me for Argo's sake…"

"Nonsense!" The tiger frowned. "As it so happens, I like you very much. There is a side to you that I am seeing for the very first time which allows me to finally understand why my cousin is so infatuated with you."

She snorted. "How can he find me so infatuating when he is busy off flirting with Rangerkitty and Galina? When they are around I feel like a fifth wheel! Not much use for anything... I can't ski, I can't snowboard! I just _hate_ the snow! Believe it or not Tygra, I **too** want to have fun like the others but I do so feel left out."

He approached and laid a gentle hand upon her shoulder as she sat down on an ottoman in a huff. "Have you told Argo any of this?"

"No… He would say I am not trying hard enough…That I am purposefully sabotaging our trip."

"Argo is many things but he is more understanding than that, Crys." Tygra said gently. "He loves you and is trying his best to pick activities that he thinks you might enjoy…" His brow furrowed then he grinned. "I have an idea of something that you would _definitely_ like! Tobogganing!"

"Does it involve me being outside in the cold?" She asked warily.

"Yes, but trust me Crystalandra, you're going to love it!"

"Really? I've heard that before." However, the Sh'iar warrior's mood seemed to lighten. "Okay, I guess I will give it a shot, but only if **you** will show me what to do."

"Wouldn't you prefer your mate to do that?"

She shook her head. "No…I'm upset with him right now."

"You really have no reason to be, Crys. Despite Argo's habitual flirting, he does love you very much! Why, I remember when he initially met you. All that Tiglon did was rave constantly to the high heavens about you every day, and to this day he still does."

"Then why does he _flirt_ so much? It bothers me to no end." Crystalandra fumed to him.

"Perhaps…perhaps you have me to blame…"

The she-cat stared open mouthed at the tiger. "Whatever do you mean?"

The tiger sighed, closing his eyes as he did for a moment before reopening them. "Do me a favour and talk to him about that. For now, come with me downstairs for lunch." He waited and watched to see her expression, which to his dismay, had not changed. "Will you accompany me?" He extended his forearm towards her. "Please?"

"All right…" She said finally giving in. "But give me a chance to at least change into something more appropriate."

Lunch consisted of a hearty meal of clam chowder loaded with thick pieces of clam and freshly baked steaming hot bread. Complimenting the meal was a seasonal glass of hot fruit cider. The conversation around the table was minimal and strained at best between the ThunderCats. Each time Argo made an attempt to touch his mate, she would pull her hand away from him or shift her seat closer to Tygra. This hurt Argo tremendously and he merely picked at the delicious meal, not having much desire to eat. Rangerkitty felt extreme sympathy for the Tiglon and felt the Leoponess was being unfair in her treatment towards her husband.

"Is there something wrong with the meal Argo?" The tigress asked as she popped a generous spoonful in her mouth in an attempt to encourage the Tiglon to eat. "You don't know what you are missing... this is superb!"

"I'm not as hungry as I initially thought I would be." He replied giving his wife longing glances which she pointedly ignored.

_Oh Crystalandra why are you being so heartless?_ _Can't you see how you're affecting him?_ Rangerkitty wondered as she pushed her spoon aimlessly about in her bowl.

Tygra noticing the sublime mood around the table decided to do something about this. Wiping his mouth with the napkin he gave a huge smile. "You know everyone, I had a wonderful idea for an activity that we can all do after lunch…I was speaking with Crys earlier and I think it would be nice if we actually did something in which she could participate and have fun with the rest of us."

Bengali nodded his head in agreement. "I for one think that's a brilliant idea."

"I do as well." Argo spoke up and openly glared at the white tiger. Ben got the message and busied himself with finishing his meal. "What did you have in mind?"


	10. Chapter 11

6

Chapter Eleven

While they had journeyed high up the mountain for skiing the day before, they had not quite reached its summit. Tygra had been informed earlier that day by the owner of the lodge that sunsets were particularly breathtaking when viewed from the mountain top. He figured he needed something rather spectacular to impress the Sh'iar queen and to brighten her mood. What could be better than a magnificent panorama of light and sky at day's end? He had actually be planning to bring Rangerkitty up here alone with him to watch the sunset, but he figured that once Crystalandra took in the beautiful scenery, she'd want to be with Argo and he could have the private time he desired with his own woman as well.

The ThunderCats took three snowmobiles with them today so that they could more easily take turns shuttling the others back up the hill with their toboggans and sleds to minimize interruptions. Tygra steered the first snowmobile with Crys seated behind him. On the snowmobile to his right were Bengali and Rangerkitty, and on the one to his left were Galina and Argo, who was holding on for dear life as Galina had decided to make it her mission to try and just nearly miss every tree and bush in their path.

They flew through the forest of white birch trees and over a barren snow covered area past evergreens on either side of them. Rangerkitty held on to Bengali's waist as she admired the slopes and the fresh snow that lay upon them. It would have been perfect for some freestyle skiing. She held on tightly as he turned sharply to the left, following Tygra's lead.

"Are we almost there?" she shouted to the white tiger over the sound of the engine.

"Well, look ahead! When the mountain ends and the sky begin, then you'll know we're there!" he called back.

She nodded and looked over to watch the way Galina was taking Argo on the ride of his life. Wondering if he would dare try getting into a sled with the wacky tigress, she grinned and thought about the presents she had prepared for her friends. She had not yet wrapped them, and hoped she could either purchase or get her hands on some pretty paper and ribbon to make them more attractive and appealing to open. Her friends were all very un-materialistic, which made them difficult to figure out when it came to gift giving. Argo and Crys had been the easiest to figure out, but it had taken great thought and creativity to choose for Bengali, Galina, and especially for Tygra.

The ThunderCats back at the lair on had agreed not to go overboard with presents, and had even decided to limit gifts to those who would be present on the night of the solstice. In a way, Rangerkitty was glad she didn't have to worry about the others this year, but felt guilty at the same time. How could she not give something to Lion-O? Or to many of the others who surely were going to ignore the rules and leave her things anyway?

As she vexed over this, she noticed that there was not much mountain still ahead and that the rocky formations of the peaks could easily be seen now. To her surprise, Tygra and Bengali slowed their snowmobiles and set them in neutral and they looked over the terrain.

"That looks like a good run down that way." Tygra said as he pointed out the route. "It's not too steep, and it levels out down there without too many trees as obstacles."

"I agree." Bengali nodded and Rangerkitty stood on the runners under the snowmobile to get a better view over her friend's shoulder. "Otherwise it'd be too far and would take forever to keep climbing back up."

"We have to CLIMB back up?" Crystalandra interjected from behind Tygra. "I thought that was why we brought snowmobiles!"

Tygra turned to her. "Crys, these are in case we get very tired, or if someone gets hurt. Tobogganing isn't like skiing where you go down the entire mountain. You simply sleigh down the hill and pull your sled back up behind you! You'll see. It will be fun."

She mumbled something under her breath that he could not clearly hear, but it sounded like, "Everyone keeps saying that. It'll be fun. _Sure it will..._ "

He leaned down and around her and touched her cheek to force her lavender eyes to meet his amber ones. "Have I yet steered you wrong? Try and trust me."

She tried to keep her grumpy face, but couldn't help but smile at the innocent look he was giving her that he seemed to be getting much better at. "Oh all right! Let's go before I change my mind!" She hopped off the snowmobile and straightened out her fur-lined parka, then wrapped her scarf more snugly around her neck.

Rangerkitty stepped off her snowmobile along with Bengali and joined Tygra and Crystalandra on the top of their chosen hill. She looked up at the summit, then at her mate. "Tygra, why aren't we going up to the top?"

"This is the safer area for sledding, and up top is for later, my dear." He gave her a squeeze on both arms. "Trust me. The wait will be worth it." She nodded and he released her to unhook the sleds from the rear of the snowmobiles. They had brought an old style toboggan that had the ability to be steered and slowed down with a brake. Strapped on top of that, they had also brought along one plastic toboggan, a large plastic saucer sled, and two inflatable tubes; one of them being a double, so two people could go down the hill together.

"Hold on to your mittens!" Galina called over her shoulder to the Tiglon who was busy promising the Phoenix deity that he would worship her at least twice a day everyday if he survived this snowmobile ride. Galina was aiming for cliffs and jumps wherever she could, and had a few times, powered it unnervingly close to the side of the mountain where there was nothing below but a steep drop into jagged rocks. His eyes were closed as she pulled up to the others and stopped the vehicle. Feeling the cessation of motion, he looked around and sighed in relief, then climbed off and hurried over to his mate, grabbing her close for a hug.

This took Crys by surprise, and when he released her he held her at arm's length. "Marozi, this is the great difference between you and Galina…. You terrify and excite me…. She just plain _terrifies_ me!"

Crystalandra laughed aloud and pushed him away with one hand. "Oh don't be so melodramatic. She had everything well in hand. Yourself included. No reason to be nervous."

"Yeah, well… _Next time_, **I'm driving**!" he called after the lavender haired hybrid as she selected the older style toboggan and placed it in the snow, looking it over. She pushed it back and forth, seeing how easily it glided over the snow. She liked this one, she figured, comparing it to the others. It could be steered and slowed down if need be.

"I am going on this sled!" she announced. "Who is with me?"

Everyone stepped forward, surprising the Sh'iar queen. Rangerkitty smiled at her, and looked down at the sled. "I can teach you how to steer this if you like, Crys."

"Er, no… thank you." Crystalandra said hurriedly, remembering how her lesson on the skis had not gone very well. "Perhaps Tygra can show me."

Feeling daunted, Rangerkitty stepped back and looked down at the snow. She realized that Crys must not trust her due to the fact that she'd ended up upside down in a tree the last time she'd tried to help her. Tygra nodded and stepped forward, pushing gently past Bengali. He did this purposefully as he knew that Ben would get a fist in the face if he drooled on Crys' nice fur coat, and he did not mean the stylish one she was wearing over her sweater.

Argo regarded his mate with a puzzled expression on his face. "Marozi, I thought that perhaps we both would have enjoyed the sledding experience together."

"No Lee, I would rather Tygra teach me. Besides, he promised." Crys looped her arm around the tiger's and pulled him over towards her toboggan.

"I promise I'll take very good care of her." The orange tiger assured his cousin with a nod. Although the Tiglon was pleased to see Crys and Tygra getting along so fabulously, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. _She should be with me…_

Seeing an opportunity to hijack the Tiglon for herself, Galina quickly sidled up to him before Rangerkitty could jump to his rescue. "Well mister tall, dark, and handsome... I guess that means you're with me!"

Before Argo could decline her offer he found himself being propelled over to the plastic toboggan. "We're going to use that?" He inquired. "I'm fairly heavy and I doubt it will support my weight."

"Oh pushaw! _I'll_ steer!" She happily squealed.

Remembering the fear he experienced with the white tigress piloting the snowmobile he bolted towards the sled. "Galina! **No!** I'll do it!"

But it was too late; Galina plopped her self down before the controls and playfully stuck her tongue out at Rangerkitty who was standing on the sidelines watching. She couldn't help but feel some pity for the huge Tiglon who was overwhelmed by her friend's flamboyant nature.

_Hold on, Argo. Hold really really tight!_

Bengali blew out his breath in frustration and ran his hand in an irritated manner through his salt and pepper mane. His eyes flashed angrily as Galina made it a point to flauntingly touch Argo at every opportunity while she explained the concept of sledding.

"What does _he_ have that I don't?!" He fumed_. Other than the fact he's built like a tank with the looks to spare?_ He sighed. "I guess you're stuck with me Ranger. I hope you don't mind."

She smiled. "I don't mind at all. Don't feel badly Ben, since it appears that I too have been abandoned for another by my own mate."

He grunted his agreement while they walked to the plastic tubes. "Abandoned and tossed aside…"

Tygra offered to sit in front of the hybrid to steer the toboggan but she refused. "I won't hear of it! I want to be the one in control so you just sit behind me and let _**me**_ do the steering."

He chuckled. "Well, as you put it that way I am more than interested to see how you will handle this sled."

Crys settled herself behind the steering controls testing the levers. "I am sure I will amaze you…" She replied with a sly wink and settled her ankles in the groves in the front of the old sled.

The tiger took his place behind her. "You know Crys I'm curious, why did you choose this toboggan? What is it about it that appeals to you?"

"The coefficient of friction…" The she-cat answered while adjusting her goggles.

"Excuse me?" The master architect was stunned to hear Crys use this particular physics term and wanted to hear more.

She turned slightly in her seat to look at the orange tiger. "In layman's terms the coefficient of friction between the wood and the snow is practically ideal meaning the sled will run smoothly over the icy surface."

"But can't it be argued that plastic will move faster over the ice since the coefficient of friction is much lower than that of wood? He challenged.

Crys smiled. "You are correct. However, the difference between plastic and our wooden toboggan is that we will have better steering control."

"Touché!" Tygra shook his head in amazement, Crys was truly smart.

"…And why wouldn't I be?" She challenged as though reading his mind. "Did you honestly think that Sh'iars were all brawn and no brain?"

He chuckled. "I certainly knew better than that just look at Argo. I know he's a genius because it runs in the family."

"He has a photographic memory—I hardly think that counts as being a genius." Crys answered with a lopsided grin. "Hold on—we're off!"

She shoved off and they went careening down the hill at break neck speeds which surprised the tiger knowing how much Crys hated the snow. But no, she was whooping and laughing; steering the toboggan as if she had been doing this all of her life! Argo stood at the top of the mountain, watching and stunned as he overheard his wife's joyous voice echoing through the dells as she went zooming downhill.

"Well I'll be damned…" He muttered.

Galina walked over and stood next to Argo, "Looks like she's really enjoying herself."

Bengali and Rangerkitty stepped around the pair with their rubber double inflatable donut. "Excuse us you're in our way…Did you come to sled or stand around yammering?" The white tiger demanded as he glared at his mate. Galina only tossed her mane in response and pulled the Tiglon back towards their sled.

"See you at the bottom!" Rangerkitty called and both she and Bengali ran forward and then jumped upon the double-donut. They swirled down the mountain shouting with glee.

The white tigress watched briefly and did not care for the way in how Bengali cuddled her best friend when a brilliant idea popped into her head—an idea so outrageous she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. Galina was certain Argo would definitely go for it—he had to! She turned to him, "Hey Argo I just thought of something utterly brilliant that we can do to show up the others."

He turned warily and regarded the white tigress. "What did you have in mind?" He so foolishly asked knowing that in some way he would greatly regret this. Galina grinned up at the huge Tiglon, her heart pounding heavily in her chest as she gazed into his unbelievably pale blue eyes which were lighter in shade than Bengali's. She swallowed and had to take a moment to compose herself as she was feeling overwhelmed by his unwavering stare.

"What did you have in mind?" Argo repeated.

Galina's lip curled upwards into a mischievous smile. "Why don't we climb up to the next ridge and show them what we can _really_ do with our toboggan?"

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Argo, this hill is tame! Where is your sense of adventure and daring? If we go further up we will come down at a greater speed that will show them what great athletes we are. I was even thinking of doing an aerial stunt to impress our friends."

Logic and common sense were nagging at the Tiglon. _Not a good idea at all…Ignore her suggestion and just remain where you are. _However, when he took another look down the mountain slope he saw Tygra chasing Crys around their wooden toboggan with a snowball and she was squealing happily. _She should be with me!_ Well that settled things for him. Argo nodded. "Let's do it…"

Galina clapped her gloved hands together. "Yes! Follow me handsome—we are going to have the time of our lives!"


	11. Chapter 12

5

Chapter Twelve

They trekked up by foot to the next ridge. Argo pulled the plastic toboggan behind him. "How much further?" He asked following Galina's lead.

The white tigress stopped and turned with a triumphant expression on her face. "This will do…This incline is perfect don't you agree?"

The Tiglon glanced behind him, the incline was certainly steep and looked quite dangerous but he nodded his agreement. "It doesn't look as though anybody has used this area in awhile."

She shrugged. "Well then we will be the first, won't we?"

Again, he nodded then noticed several red markers throughout the area. "What's that over there?"

"What's what?" The white tigress was busily preparing the sled for their voyage. "It's probably nothing."

"You're not looking…"

"Oh Argo, does it really matter? It's too late for you to chicken out now."

He bristled. "I am not... chickening out!" He hotly retorted.

"Good…" She straightened up and walked towards the Tiglon, resting her hands against his ample chest. "…Because you don't seem like the sort…You're the type of alpha male who goes after and takes what he wants. I find that rather sexy in a feline."

Argo gulped nervously. "Galina, let's go…I'm sure the others must be wondering what's happened to us."

"You're right!" The white tigress agreed and plopped herself down before the steering levers as the Tiglon breathed an audible sigh of relief and sat down behind her. _There is no way I am ever going to be alone with this nutty woman! Crystalandra this is all you fault!_

By this time Crys, Tygra, Bengali, and Rangerkitty had made several runs up and down the mountain. Crys was having so much fun that she near enough forgot about her mate until she picked up a stray thought from him, _Crystalandra this is all your fault!_

_What have I done?! _

_I am stuck with a mad woman!_

The she-cat grinned. _Not my fault…That's what you get for flirting!_

_!_

Tygra cocked his head to one side watching her. "What's so funny?"

"Oh… oh, it's Argo…He's complaining about Galina."

He grew concerned. "Where are they by the way? I haven't seen them in quite some time."

Crys pointed up the far side of the mountain. "From what I gather, she took him up to the next ridge where the hill is steeper."

As the orange tiger shaded his eyes and looked to where the hybrid had indicated, his eyes grew round and his pupils constricted as his body felt the rush of adrenaline. "Crys! Warn Argo! That area is not safe according to the proprietor! It's an Avalanche zone!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"

"Argo and Galina are in danger of being buried by tons of heavy snow!"

But it was too late. From where they stood the group could hear AND feel the deep rumblings of tumbling snow!

"Be a darling and push us off!" Galina excitedly shouted. The Tiglon did so and they took off like a rocket! So fast he had to hold on to her for dear life!

She gave a loud Herculean yell pumping her fist into the air as Argo's head shot upwards hearing what sounded like a loud crack in the air. "What was that?!"

The white tigress giggled. "Geez, you are awfully paranoid!"

"No—just cautious—it comes from years of being a ThunderGuard."

_Argo!_ Crystalandra's frantic call pierced the Tiglon's head like a jagged piece of glass temporarily dazing him. _Get out of there—YOU'RE IN AN AVALANCHE ZONE!_

_WHAT? _He asked and felt his gut sink as his internal alarm went off. The Tiglon took a precautionary glance over his shoulder and he tapped Galina.

"What is it now?" She sighed loudly. "Aren't you having fun?"

"Don't look now, but we have a ton of snow chasing after us!"

"Huh?" The tigress glanced around Argo. "Oh great Jaga! Hold on, handsome and lean forward with me! We are going to outrun this!"

_If I survive this I promise I will change my ways. _He silently vowed. _I will not partake in dangerous stunts ever again to impress my wife!_

It was a neck and neck race of the felines versus the Avalanche. Crystalandra clutched Tygra's arm as she helplessly watched. Rangerkitty was not pleased with this despite the circumstances.

"I'm too young to be made a widow! Isn't there anything we can do to help them?" The she-cat wailed.

"We can only pray that Galina can get them out of there safely…"

"She's the one that got them into the mess in the first place!" Crys growled. "So help me when I get my hands on that white tigress there will be hell to pay!"

Although Galina didn't deserve it, Ranger nevertheless rushed to her friend's defence. "Crys there won't be any need for you to revert to violence towards Gali, I think you will be more grateful than anything else that Argo is alive."

The Sh'iar queen merely snorted and returned to watching the unfolding drama…

Galina crazily zigzagged across the path of the avalanche in a desperate attempt to remain three steps ahead of it. She gritted her teeth in concentration and smiled to herself feeling the Tiglon's grip tighten around her waist. Even though their lives were in danger, she felt a wonderful sense of bliss settle over her having Argo finally all to herself and not sharing him with Rangerkitty.

"We're not going to make it, are we?" He commented interrupting the tigress' private reverie. "We're done for..."

"Trust me Argo! I'll get you back safely to your wife! This I swear to you as a ThunderCat!"

"You had better or else Bengali will have one furious Leoponess to deal with!"

Galina rolled her eyes. "Don't you think Crys over dramatizes things a bit too much?"

The Tiglon growled under his breath somewhat frustrated with the tigress' flippant manner. "Gali, don't you think you should be concentrating on getting us out of here instead of questioning me about my mate's emotional well being?"

She sighed. "I am only trying to lighten the mood…Okay then, hold on!"

"Hey! Where are you going!?" He asked, horrified to see that Galina was steering the toboggan over towards the edge of the cliff!

"I know what I am doing—just _trust_ me!" And with that said, the white tigress made a daring jump that took them both out of harm's way of the avalanche.

The group watched the claw biting action in horror as their friends became airborne…The landing would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the darn tree in the way. As it so happened, the toboggan crashed into an outcropped branch, Galina shrieked, and found herself hurtling uncontrollably downward to the ground! She covered her face not wanting to see or feel the impact when she hit, but it never came! The tigress, daring to open her eyes, found herself cradled in the big Tiglon's strong arms.

"Are you all right?" He asked. "Anything broken?"

She shook her head quite stunned. "How did you do that?"

"Let's just say as a Sh'iar I am quite flexible." Argo set her down on her feet.

"You saved me!" Galina hugged him; he patted her shoulder. "One good turn deserves another…" And he glanced up hearing the sound of approaching snowmobiles.

Crys disembarked and ran over to her mate. "Argo, are you all right?!"

"I'm fine... but my hands are freezing I had to lose the gloves in order to use my claws to scale down the tree."

"Oh my poor Tiglon! Come here and let me warm them up for you." The she-cat cooed as he went to her, willingly placing his hands in her coat pocket and drew her closer to him for a kiss. "Marozi, that was a most harrowing experience!"

Galina pouted. "Excuse me. If anybody is interested I too am fine…Thank you for asking."

Bengali scowled at her. "What on Thundera were you thinking?! You could have been killed up there!"

"Oh please Benny! You are being over dramatic as usual. I had the situation completely under my control."

"Is that so?"

Tygra shook his head. "What you did Galina, was extremely foolhardy…Did you not see the red flags marking the area as unsafe?"

"Well, now I know." She declared nonchalantly and casually walked away.

Rangerkitty regarded her friend, not understanding the white tigress' recklessness as she departed.


	12. Chapter 13

9

Chapter Thirteen

While Argo was being fed by the kitchen staff after his hair-raising ordeal, Crys, not wanting to be left to do nothing invited Tygra to go skating with her.

"I would love to." He said putting the book he was reading aside. "I don't know where Ranger has disappeared to, but I don't think she would mind too much if I joined you."

"Excellent!" The Sh'iar queen beamed. "It will give us a chance to continue our conversation from earlier."

"What conversation was that?" Tygra inquired then he remembered. "Ah…yes…about that…are you sure you wouldn't rather speak to Argo and let him explain it all to you?"

"No…I'm more interested in hearing your version." She replied with a twinkle in her eye.

"All right…"

The logs in the large fireplace crackled as the tigress crossed her ankles and allowed the warmth to radiate into her chilly feet. It was a soothing and comforting sensation and she savoured the comfort that the heat provided. It had been a strange and emotionally charged day. She leaned back on her outstretched arms and laid her palms flat on the carpet. She stared into the flames as they danced before her and wondered about the events that had transpired that day.

She remembered breakfast, then fun at the polar plunge... She thought back to their time in the hot tubs, then the awkward lunch. She took a deep breath in through her nose, smelling the scent of the embers and closed her eyes as she savoured the aroma of the burning logs. She thought back to the snowmobiling and sledding down the mountain, and wondered why everyone seemed so at odds with their mates. Even she felt a sense of awkwardness with Tygra as he was increasingly spending more and more time with Crystalandra.

She frowned and gave herself a self-scolding as she wondered why everyone was suddenly harbouring so much jealousy. _Don't we all trust each other? Like Galina had decided to herself quite some time ago, is there really any harm in enjoying the view as long as the object of one's desire is kept just a little farther than arm's length?_ It was then that her thoughts drifted to Tygra, and to how much Crystalandra had seemed to have warmed up to him. Although he'd assured her earlier that day that he had absolutely no romantic interest in the woman, Rangerkitty could not help but to feel slightly uncomfortable about their recent closeness.

While she herself shared a close relationship with Argo, it just felt different seeing his mate spending so much time together with hers. As she sat there brooding, Bengali happened by and noticed her sitting on the area rug in front of the fire. He saw the concerned look on her face and wondered what was on her mind. Wordlessly he joined her on the carpet and leaned back in the very same manner that she was, hoping that she would say something.

"Hey." She said finally.

"Hey."

It was a start.

"Is Gali still giving you the cold shoulder?"

"Yeah…It stinks. I'm going out of my mind."

"It could be worse. She could be giving you the silent treatment."

"Ranger that would be like a vacation. _This _is absolute torture."

Rangerkitty laughed out loud without meaning to. She quickly covered her mouth and tried to resume her calm, but grinned when she heard Bengali chuckle.

"Why is she so upset?" she asked her friend.

He shook his head. "I dunno... Crys' bathing suit top came undone. It had been tied in a slipknot, and I reached out to re-tie it before her suit fell off. I never imagined anyone would think I was putting the moves on her." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he gazed at the glow of the flames flickering before the both of them. "I suppose she is a little uncomfortable in terms of competing with Crystalandra. I mean, yeah, Crys is gorgeous, but all three of you are. Tygra, Argo and I are the luckiest three guys on Third Earth..."

Bengali fell silent; Rangerkitty watched him as she let that last comment sink in. She watched as the fire's flames danced and reflected in his pale blue eyes. An idea suddenly came to her, and she touched his left hand with her right one. "I have an idea, Ben. Let's you and me go to the market. I want to buy ribbon and paper to wrap my solstice gifts in... will you come with me?"

"Sure. A little drive might do me good. I so need a change of scenery. You get your things while I request a snowmobile, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled as he stood up and took her hands, pulling her to feet. He turned and walked over to the main office where he had seen the lodge owner enter a short time before. Rangerkitty hurried up the stairs and down the second floor hallway to the suite that she shared with Tygra. As she entered, she was only mildly surprised that he wasn't there. Probably _with Crystalandra again._

She stopped and chastised herself for being so assuming. _He's free to go wherever with whomever he wants. _She sighed and walked over to the wardrobe where she'd hidden her gifts for her friends. Lifting up a few of the sweaters she'd put in a drawer, she smiled softly as she looked at her gift for Tygra. She had agonized over what to give him for months, until the idea had finally come to her in a chance encounter. She gently laid the sweaters back on top of it and figured she would only need a few lengths of ribbon and a single roll of paper, but she wanted to personalize the gifts as much as she could. She took a few extra coins from her purse and slipped them into her pocket.

Rangerkitty paused as she walked by the bed and looked down at it. Seeing a notepad and pen on the bedside table, she scribbled a quick note and placed it under the sheets on the left side of the bed where Tygra liked to sleep. She grinned and remembered Bengali was waiting for her, so left the room and returned downstairs where she saw him standing by the front door.

He smiled when she arrived and waved her on and he opened the front doors where a blast of cold air met them both. He pushed it closed and looked at her. "Oh wow! It's pretty cold out there! Still want to go?"

She nodded and found a couple of scarves that were hanging on hooks just behind the door. She tossed one to Bengali and wrapped the other one around her neck. She grinned, noticing that hers had a tiger pattern and that Bengali's seemed to have a pattern resembling a zebra.

"It's a white tiger!" He insisted.

"It's a Zebra!" she yelled back with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, let's just go!"

He pulled the doors open and braced himself against the gusts, which were not so bad once they walked outside. A staff member had pulled up in a fully-gassed snowmobile for them and had left it running. Bengali mounted it as Rangerkitty sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Shall we?"

"Let's!" he exclaimed as he gunned the motor and the snowmobile began to accelerate forward.

Upstairs, a pair of curtains fell together as Galina stormed away from the window and set out to find Argo.

Out on the frozen ice skating rink, Crystalandra was doing figure eight patterns around the tiger astounding him with her seemingly effortless acrobatic performance.

"This is your second time skating and I can't believe how much you have improved." He raved to her in disbelief.

She smiled. "Sh'iars are fast learners…" Crys did a few more passes before she skated up to him and skidded to a stop. "So tell me Tygra, how is it that you are to blame for Argo's flirtatious behaviour?"

He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets as he grinned coyly. "Well…I hate to admit it but when I was younger I was quite the lady's man."

"You?!" She gasped. "I'm sorry Tygra but you come across anything but that…I find it quite difficult to believe."

"Hey—you can always ask Argo!" He replied with mock insult to his ego.

Crys grinned. "Oh you know I will…Go on…"

Tygra smiled. "As I have grown older I have settled down—matured…I'm not the brash wild tiger that I used to be. However, back then when Argo was a cub, he idolized me…I was someone whom he could look up to as he didn't have much of a relationship with his father."

"Yes…I know his growing up years were difficult." Crys commented, "Especially with him being sickly and asthmatic."

The tiger nodded. "To him I was the older brother he never had…I recall him telling me that one day he would be just like me and have tons of girls falling at his feet…'I won't always be weak and sickly Tygra…I'm going to be strong, handsome, and a ThunderCat noble just like you when I am older.'"

"…And he is."

"So answer this for me Crystalandra, why is it that you and Rangerkitty don't get along? Why do you dislike her so much?" Tygra's question took the Sh'iar queen by surprise. "It's not that I don't like her…It just bothers me how close she and Argo have become."

"What do you mean?"

Crys shrugged. "You wouldn't understand…"

"Try me…"

The she-cat suddenly skated backwards away from the tiger while trying to organize her thoughts. He regarded her under the bright stars and realized how beautiful she actually was…If he had only met her in another time and place…Tygra was certain he could have fallen for her. But as it was, Crys belonged to Argo and him to Ranger whom he dearly and truly loved. As Crys skated back to the tiger he noticed her violet eyes were strangely luminescent in the dark.

"Argo is the only man whom I have ever been with... if you understand my meaning…"

Tygra was taken aback to get this admission from Crys. "Oh… okay."

She rushed on. "I can't help but think that perhaps he is disappointed with my lack of experience…"

"Stop right there Crys." The tiger interrupted-he held up his hands signalling her to stop. "He loves you and only you…Argo has never complained so put that idea out of your head that he is looking elsewhere." He took her hand in his and skated around the lake pulling her along after him. "You have nothing to worry about…I have seen how he watches you with those pale blue eyes of his…The possessive way in which he regards you. Now might I suggest that you and RK settle your differences peacefully so we can all get along? After all, we are going to be family."

She sighed. "Since you put it that way…All right…I shall speak to her when the opportunity arises. Is that fair enough?"

He grinned. "Fair enough…"

As the snowmobile descended the mountain, Rangerkitty was surprised at just how remote the lodge truly was, and gasped that they reached the market so quickly. Bengali pulled the snowmobile to a slow speed so that they could view the different types of stores along the mile long street. There were specialty shops showcasing jewellery, crystals, crafts, as well as several bars and restaurants. Rangerkitty leaned forward and hugged Bengali as they slid by, enjoying the view of how the stores seemed decorated for the holiday. Many had white or colourful lights adorning the storefronts, and there were several trees outside their front doors with ornaments from their shops.

"Very clever." She commented as Bengali saw a convenient place to park and pulled into it.

"Okay, my dear, let's find that ribbon you're looking for."

"First things first, Bengali."

"Huh?"

"I want to have some hot chocolate."

"Ooooh, no…No way." He replied, holding his hands up.

She gasped and gave him her pouty face. "Why?"

"Because then we'll never get what we came for. Come on." He replied, taking her hand and pulling her into a nearby gift shop. A small bell on the door jingled as they entered and a small but pleasant looking wollo woman beamed at them as they entered. "May I help you?"

"We need ribbon and paper to wrap solstice gifts."

"Oh! Well then you shall also need tape and scissors!" The older lady beamed as she hurried into the aisle. "Let me help you!"

The two ThunderCats followed her and were shown an array of colourful paper, ribbons, bows, and other decorative adornments. Rangerkitty looked at them seriously as Bengali felt his stomach rumble. Hot chocolate was sounding really good right now. After a few minutes, he interrupted her search and asked what the holdup was.

"I want to wrap Crystalandra's in this pretty shiny purple, but I want blue for Tygra."

He wasn't getting it. "Ok, sooooo what's the problem?"

"Well, I can't decide on which to buy."

"Oh dear gods, woman! Buy both!"

"That's too much paper!"

"Ay!" he groaned, grabbing a roll of each and started heading after the Wollo who had already selected tape, scissors and 2 different lengths of ribbon. "We'll take both." He informed her.

"Lovely! Happy solstice to both of you!"

He grinned as Rangerkitty joined him and he made a point to give her a loud and wet kiss on the cheek. "And back at cha!" he grinned, sharing a smile with the Wollo lady who handed him his bag of supplies. Grinning, he turned and handed it to the tigress who was seeing for the first time just what Galina saw in this handsome young hunk.

"Thanks. Shall we go now?"

"No way! I was promised hot chocolate!"

She thought a moment. "You were promised?"

He gave her a sultry grin. "Oh yes, I very much was."

"Well I imagine that I should probably satisfy that desire of yours..."

Bengali froze for a second as Rangerkitty turned around at the waist to see which of the cafes they might choose. Being that it was so cold out, he hopped back and forth for a moment until she turned back to him. "How about that one?"

He looked to where she was pointing and instantly agreed. It was a quaint old-style brewery but appeared to have wine barrels as well. It was lit with torches and glowed while many other shops seemed dim in comparison. They walked over together and were immediately shown to a table. Rangerkitty sat down and smiled at Bengali who took the bag of supplies and tucked it under the bistro chair he was sitting in.

"This chair is cold! My bum is freezing!"

The waitress appeared and it was the first time Bengali had ever been handed a warm fleece by a table server. She gave one to RK as well, and they stood, wrapped the fleeces around their waists, and then sat back down, very happy and warm.

_Oh she is soooooo getting a good tip_. Rangerkitty sent to him.

He got it and simply nodded back. "Two hot chocolates, please."

"Would you like the chef's special blend?"

"Sure." Bengali grinned at the pretty girl. "Thanks."

She scribbled the order down on a tablet and sauntered away as he watched her as Rangerkitty watched him. She took the opportunity to gently kick him under the table. "Dude! Really?"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"You deserved it!"

"No I didn't!"

"Ben, what's going on with you and Galina? She's being MUCH more insane than usual, and personally, it's exhausting me. Crys is all into Tygra and he's all into her, and I'm glad, but I'm feeling a little left out."

"Sooo, do you want to talk about Galina or do you want to talk about you? Cuz it sounds like there's more going on than just one thing."

Part of her wanted to smack him, but as he was her only current ally, she bit her lip and held her hand.

"Benny, I really don't like, well, I guess I'm a little freaked out..." She ran a hand through her hair, knowing that what she was trying to say wasn't coming across right. A few moments went by, and Bengali was about to speak when Rangerkitty suddenly cut him off.

"I don't want Crys to take my tiger!" she blurted out, surprising both herself as well as Bengali.

He frowned as she said that. Crystalandra usually did not play by the rules, but to steal Tygra?

He shook his head. "She won't. He loves you, and only you."

"He's really warming to her."

Bengali reached forwards and took Rangerkitty's hands in his. "Hun, I wouldn't worry. That tiger is mad crazy about you. Have you any idea how lost he was over that time you both weren't together?"

"No...How lost was he?"

"Like totally—extremely…very. He practically couldn't function. Thank Jaga that you both resumed things at that festival."

"And I'm glad you met Galina there too."

"I didn't meet her. I fell for her... literally. I fell down onto the ground when I first saw her. She took my breath away."

"And the rest is history..." Rangerkitty smiled as she sipped her cocoa. "That must have been hard on you both to have met then to have lost each other for so long. I remember how down you were."

"Yeah." He smirked as he remembered being united with the blue eyed beauty after she and Rangerkitty had become ThunderCats on New Thundera. "I'm really happy with her... she makes me laugh everyday."

"Except today..."

He didn't respond, and instead looked absently at the warm mug he was holding in both hands as it rested on the table. "Yeah... today I miss her."

Rangerkitty looked up at the sound of a snowmobile approaching. She was surprised to see who was on it and gasped slightly as Bengali continued to brood. She reached out and touched his hand as he looked up at her, then over at the vehicle which was being steered by Argo with Galina sitting on the back. She hopped off as Argo pulled up next to the bistro and looked from Bengali to Rangerkitty.

"May we join you?"

There were only two chairs with the bistro table and Argo was already rubbing his gloved hands together. It was obvious that he had no desire to sit out in the cold voluntarily. Rangerkitty could see that Galina wanted to talk to Bengali, so she collected the shopping bag and stood up. She offered Galina the fleece, which the white tigress refused. "Keep it."

Rangerkitty looked at the Tiglon who obviously wanted to get back to the warmth of the lodge. She walked over to him and smiled, despite the awkwardness of the present situation. "Can I ride back with you?"

"Absolutely." He turned and brushed snow off of the rear seat and patted it for her. She rewrapped the fleece around her waist and climbed on behind him. She looped her hand through the handles of the shopping bag and held onto Argo's jacket at the waist. Looking back at Bengali, she gave him a hopeful smile as Argo turned the handle and turned in the direction out of town.

Bengali looked at his friends leave, then crossly at the tigress. "Out for a pleasure ride?"

"No, I came to find you. Then I find you with Ranger. How nice for you both."

He rolled his eyes at her comment. "Oh come off it Galina. We're friends. She needed to buy some things at the store."

"Things like hot chocolate at a romantic little hideaway?"

"Hideaway? We're out in the open! What's with you? Why are you being so suspicious?!"

"I'm not being suspicious. I saw you two leave the lodge together. What was I supposed to think?"

"Maybe you could think that we were running errands! And this coming from you! You've been drooling over Argo all day! How do you think that made me feel?!"

She shrugged. "You were drooling over Crys. How do you think I felt?'

"You were in the hot tub with Argo! And I wasn't drooling over her! I was fixing her swimsuit, just as I would have done if it had been you or Ranger!"

She folded her arms and looked away. Bengali watched her, waiting for a response. After a short time, it was apparent that he wouldn't be getting one. He stood up and walked in front of her so that he was in her line of sight, forcing her to look at him. "I missed you today, babe. I missed your smile. I loved how happy we were at the polar plunge this morning."

Remembering how he'd stayed with her in the water and how they'd played, she looked up at him. Her blue eyes glistened as she gazed at the handsome tiger. "I'm sorry I was being so flirtatious."

"It's okay, Gali... but be flirtatious with me. Argo is handsome and a great guy, but I'm the one who's in love with you."

She smiled and stood before him and took his face in her hands, pulling him close for a passionate kiss. His stomach felt like it was suddenly filled with butterflies and he wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her. Patrons inside the restaurant stared from inside at the ThunderCat couple that were making out right in front of the picture window of the establishment. A waitress dropped her tray when she walked right into a waiter that had also stopped to watch. The sound of the dishes falling and breaking on the ground startled the couple who stopped what they were doing and turned in the direction of the commotion. They blinked, surprised to see that everyone in the restaurant were staring at them.

Galina giggled as Bengali blushed. "They're probably thinking that we should get a room."

Galina smiled at him. "Well then... we should do just that."


	13. Chapter 14

5

Chapter Fourteen

Argo steered the snowmobile at a much slower speed, enjoying the ride and enjoying the feel of Rangerkitty holding onto his firm waist.

"It's nice to see Crys and Tygra finally getting along but I can't help feeling a bit jealous...I miss having her around."

"I know how you feel. Lately she seems to want him to do everything with her...who would have thought?"

"Yeah...Who would have thought? That whole _be careful what you wish for_ stuff..." He answered quietly as they rode for some time in silence taking in the beauty of their surroundings.

Rangerkitty sighed as well and embraced the Tiglon around his waist more securely as she leaned against his back and hugged him closer to her _Be careful what you wish for, as you might just get _it was an old phrase, but had true wisdom in its meaning. She had been so hopeful that Crys and Tygra would be able to get along, and now, she wondered why she'd wished so hard. She closed her eyes and felt the hum of the motor beneath them, forgetting the bag she was holding in her hand. The wind caught the bag as it fluttered in the breeze and she suddenly felt it slip out of her fingers and fly away. "Argo! I dropped my things! Stop the snowmobile!"

He brought the machine to a skidding halt. "Don't worry; we'll go back for it." Argo climbed off the snowmobile and shook his head. "However did you manage to lose your grip on your bag? Well, no matter-come on, it can't be too far behind." Helping her off, the Tiglon took Rangerkitty's hand and they re-traced their step backwards to where the bag lay half buried in the snow.

She leaned down to pick it up and gathered the tape and ribbons that had fallen out of it. As she straightened, she noticed Argo, just a few feet away, watching her every move. She blinked a few times as she regarded him, and wondered how such a perfect hybrid was possible. He stood tall, broad and muscular, like something that had to have been created by a lustful goddess of creation. His mane was multi-coloured and as usual, she had the overwhelming desire to run her hands through its perfect soft framing of his face. Out of all his features, it was those blue eyes of his that always seemed to draw her in. His empathic powers could always sense the emotions of those nearby, and she tried so hard to keep her thoughts and feelings in check when she was around him. Fortunately, he had taught her many of the skills necessary to do this, but at this moment, she suddenly forgot them all as she stared back into those eyes.

The Tiglon watched Rangerkitty in the soft glow of the moonlight as she collected her wares. She was so sweet, so kind, and in so many ways, a complete contradiction to him. She was so seemingly innocent, yet he could tell she had such an intensely enigmatic sexiness to her. It was one of her greatest strengths, and while she was so naturally provocative, she was ladylike, and it tortured the hell out of him. As she stood, her long hair fell gently back over her shoulder and the snowflakes fell upon her mane, this time, not glistening like diamonds in the daylight, but like moonlit stars. Her green eyes met his gaze, and he found himself approaching her slowly, as she did the same.

When they were only inches apart, he opened his lips to speak, and suddenly felt his mouth feel so dry.

"Got it all?" he asked.

She exhaled. "Yeah. I do."

As he leaned down closer to her, her eyelashes began to flutter closed as something bright in the sky caught her eye. She gasped and grabbed his arm as she pointed up to the sky with her other hand. He followed her instruction and looked up at the starless sky, amazed at what he saw. A green shooting star blazed over them, and as quickly as they had seen it, it disappeared into oblivion, leaving only a shower of snowflakes falling down upon them.

"Wow. I can't believe we saw that with this cloud cover."

"It's a shooting star! We get to make a wish!" she said excitedly.

"It was probably just a part of a meteor shower."

She growled at him. "It was a shooting star, Argo, and we get to make a wish."

He chuckled at her seriousness and consented. "You're right."

They both silently made their wishes, and as they reopened their eyes, they realized they were still standing in the middle of the forest in a foot of snow. She glanced around and was pleased to see the trail of footprints they had made.

"Wow. Can you imagine if those weren't there? We'd be lost in the woods all night."

"I can think of worse things." He grinned.

She blushed at his comment and tried to avoid his mesmerizing eyes as she started around him and began heading back the way they had come. He followed and stopped short as Rangerkitty held aside a few hanging branches as she peered under a tree. "What are you doing?"

"Argo! Check this out!" she whispered. Confused but curious, he followed and peered under the branches at what she'd discovered. Two white rabbits were quietly nibbling on a berry bush that grew at the base of the tree. Their noses twitched happily as they seemed pleased at the discovery of the surprise treat. He smiled softly, feeling their contentedness and their innocence. He looked at Rangerkitty who also looked happy. In fact, she had the unmistakable glisten of tears in her eyes. He touched her shoulder and she turned to look at him.

"Are you okay, hun?"

"Yes." She smiled and stood up, gently releasing the branches and leaving the animals to their little party of two. "I just love rabbits. My father used to say that seeing them was good luck."

He pulled her in for a hug. "That's sweet. Wow, first a comet, er... shooting star, now a bunny sighting. Where is all this good luck coming from?"

She squeezed him tight. "I'm not sure, but can we do one more thing before we go?"

He released her and watched as she walked a few feet away to an area of untouched snow. "Sure, Ranger…Anything."

He gasped as she fell backward, flat onto the ground. He dashed forward, unsure of why she had collapsed, and was perplexed to see her lying in the snow, spread eagle and moving her arms and legs up and down, in and out. He watched her a few moments before finally speaking. "May I ask what in Third Earth you're doing?"

She giggled and sat up, holding her arms out to him. He took her hands and pulled her up to her feet. She hopped out of the design she had made in the snow, and showed him. "See? A snow angel!"

He looked down and studied the outline that she had made in the snow and nodded in agreement. It did look like one of the heavenly creatures that he had read about in the old lore. "Ahhh, I see. So _that's_ what a snow angel is."

"Your turn!" She smiled up at the Sh'iar who made a mock whimper.

"I have to lie in that cold stuff? RK, can't you just do another one for me?"

She laughed and began pushing him, trying to get him to fall. He wrestled with her and chuckled as she really was making the effort to manage to get him to trip.

"You silly tigress. I'm bigger than you. This isn't going to work. Besides..." He grabbed her and threw himself back into a small snowdrift, clutching her to his chest. She shrieked at the surprise and giggled, looking up at him as they landed in a shower of fluffy snow.

"If I go down I'm taking you with me." He grinned, their faces only inches apart.

Then it happened. Rangerkitty looked into his pale blue eyes and was immediately lost in them. She hesitated, feeling herself holding her breath, although she was not sure why. Argo gazed up at the beautiful woman whom he hadn't released from his grip... nor did he intend to. Neither of them moved for a few moments, but their eyes remained locked, neither one of them blinking. He could feel her desire now, and as she lowered her head down to gently bush her lips against his, he parted his lips ever so slightly in response. She answered with a gentle kiss as they lay together in the snowdrift. He responded just as gently, savouring the moment and the softness of her lips as they joined with his. It was only the second time in his life that he had ever kissed her, and after a few seconds of pure bliss, she pulled gently back and smiled.

They looked at each other then, and Rangerkitty saw something change in the Tiglon's eyes. He wasn't done with her yet. He didn't bother to control his inner desire as he heard her inhale sharply. His hand slipped up behind her head and into her hair as he felt the need for her flood throughout his entire body. He pulled her mouth back to his and she didn't protest. She allowed him to draw her in to him and felt him slip his tongue into her mouth to dance hotly with hers. Feeling her own want and desire take over, her hands went directly to that enticing mane of his and she ran them through it, clutching it tightly as she ravished his mouth.

His one hand clutched her hair tightly as he kissed her, allowing his other hand to run down her back, over her hip, and grab her backside and he rolled over so that he was on top of her. She threw her head back and felt him kiss her neck hotly and she dug her claws into his shoulders in response. At the sensation of this, he winced, knowing how far this could go if he didn't stop now. He released her hair but kept his hand under her head as she looked back up at him, panting heavily with flushed cheeks. He was doing the same.

"I'm sorry, RK. I just couldn't help but not to kiss you."

"It's ok." She breathed. "I think I needed that."

"So did I." He said truthfully, then grinned and gently climbed off of her. He leaned down and helped her to her feet and pulled her in for a hug, then indicated to where they had fallen. "See? It's a mistletoe tree. I was just following the holiday tradition."

She gave a nervous laugh, feeling relief wash over her. As much as she loved and was attracted to Argo, she knew he was more of a friend to her than anyone ever had been. She would never want to compromise that. "Your snow angel looks more like a snow beast." She grinned, pointing to the pile of snow where he'd landed, "Looks like a yeti was lying there."

"Come on, you. Let's get back to the lodge." He said, taking her hand and leading her back to the snowmobile. She grabbed her shopping bag and went with him as he lead her back down the trail where they mounted the vehicle and started back to the mountain resort. When the large and warmly lit building came into view, Rangerkitty was surprised when Argo slowed the snowmobile to a stop.

"Is everything okay?"

He took a few deep breaths and stepped off the machine and turned to face her. "RK, I feel really guilty about how I acted just before."

"I'm not mad at you."

"I know, but I'm angry with myself. I need to have much more restraint than that."

She tilted her head to the side as she realized how bothered he appeared to be. She did not regret any of it. She'd always wanted to kiss him that way, and in a way, she felt like she'd finally gotten it out of her system. "Argo, I feel relieved that we just shared that moment together. I've been so confused and so... well, needy as of late, your kiss kinda cured me...in a way."

"What, like revenge?"

"Not exactly. It made me realize that even though I have been jealous of Crystalandra and Tygra becoming so close, that they might just feel the same way about us. And if we can restrain ourselves, well then perhaps they can as well. That I can trust that they will show us the same respect that we showed them."

"You call that respect? Ranger, that's called a Tiglon skin rug where I come from if she ever found out... not to mention how she'd use you for batting practice."

"Why should she find out? Are you planning to tell her?"

"Somehow I think I'd like to see my 30th birthday."

Rangerkitty shrugged. "Well then it stays between us. Not to mention that we didn't do anything wrong, we only shared a kiss, and I have to say... it meant a lot to me."

He sighed and approached her and gently caressed her cheek with his hand. "It meant a lot to me too."

She touched her hand over his and smiled up at him. "Then please cherish it, rather than regret it. That would make me feel terribly sad. And you're an empath. You would pick up on that any and every time you're around me."

He took a deep breath, read her emotions and came to the realization she was not trying to rationalize things, but truly believed and felt this way. This calmed him, and he grinned and nodded. "Okay Ranger. Thanks. I feel better."

"I'm glad. Hey, can I tell you something that will make you smile?"

He nodded, feeling like things were back to normal between the two of them. "What's that?"

"You're a great kisser." She winked at him.

He threw his head back and laughed out loud, then grabbed her face and planted a hard kiss on her lips. "Mmmmmmwha! Thanks, darlin!"

She laughed too and wiped her mouth as he re-mounted the snowmobile and revved the engine. He threw it into gear and drove like Galina did, excited to get back to the lodge and find his own mate.


	14. Chapter 15

6

Chapter Fifteen

Argo rushed to his quarters, after checking in the snowmobile with the valet, hoping that Crystalandra had returned from her excursion with Tygra. He opened the door,

"Marozi? Crys…Love are you here?" The room was empty—she was not there. The Tiglon removed his jacket and in placing it on the bed, he contented himself with sitting in front of the massive fireplace to warm his chilled body from being outside rolling in the snow. While he waited for his mate, Argo silently reflected on all that had happened between himself and Rangerkitty. At least he was relieved that whatever they had been feeling for one another had finally been brought out into the open and now they could move on. After that incident he was pleased feeling a sense of relief that nothing had really changed between them, their friendship remained intact. But sitting here in his room he felt a pang of loneliness for his fiery tempered queen. He loved his cousin dearly and was delighted that they were getting along but enough was enough, Crys should be here with him. Touching his finger tips lightly to his temple, he reached out to her…

_Crys, wherever you are hurry on home…I want to show you how much I love you…Babe, I miss you…I want you here in my arms…Please come home to me…I'm waiting in our nice, warm cozy room for you…_

Having no sense of the actual time and not really caring, Crys skated happily on the frozen lake with Tygra standing on the sidelines watching. She zoomed past the trees enjoying the peace and the tranquility of the white landscape with her purple mane streaming behind her like a deep rippling wave. Although he had been skating with her earlier, Tygra was content to merely observe this graceful beauty before him having fun. He applauded showing his delight at how quickly the Sh'iar queen had taken to this sport—she was amazingly good—hell she was much better than him! The architect regarded her and was taken aback by how beautifully exotic she was that he couldn't help but wonder if Crystalandra herself even realized how much she affected men…And if she wasn't it would explain why Argo was so downright possessive of her…Oddly enough while Crys skated past him leaving faint lines in the ice, an old nineteenth century poem he had once come across in an ancient book flitted across his mind…If he remembered correctly it was written by a human…a Lord Byron…ah yes…

**She walks in beauty like the night**

**Of cloudless climes and starry skies**

**And all that's best of dark and bright**

**Meet in her aspect and in her eyes**

**Thus mellowed to that tender light**

**To which heaven gaudy days denies… **

"Hey Tygra are you all right?" Crys asked standing before him with her hands on her slender hips; he blinked. "Oh…yes…my mind was uh far away." He answered.

She grinned. "I'd say it was! You wouldn't believe how long I have been trying to get your attention to show you another jump I have mastered."

He ran his hand through his mane obviously embarrassed to have been caught wool gathering. "I'm sorry that I missed it…"

"No matter…" Crys stepped off the frozen lake onto the feathery soft snow. "Are you sure you are all right? You look somewhat unsettled…"

"Do I?" He chuckled giving her a lopsided grin. "I suppose I would be since it isn't normally like me to be distracted."

"Might I ask what you were thinking about?" She gave an involuntary shiver and hugged herself when a blast of cold air hit them. "Whoa—it's getting colder…"

"Here…Let me warm you up." Tygra offered. He wrapped his arms around Crys pulling her closer to him and hugged her. Oddly enough she did not resist and went willingly feeling a complete utmost trust for the tiger.

"So I repeat what were you thinking?" Crys asked softly gazing into his amber eyes. "I noticed how you were watching me on the ice…"

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Instead he raised a hand to her face smoothing back a lock of mane that had escaped and was fluttering across her forehead. The strand was silky soft…He ran his claws through the rest of her mane relishing the texture…Tygra cleared his throat. "I was thinking of a poem I had read and how it perfectly applied to you…"

"Really? That's quite flattering…What poem is it?"

"'She Walks in Beauty like the night' by a human named Lord Byron." He then proceeded to recite the poem in its entirety and as he did, Tygra was unaware that he was holding her tightly.

When he finished Crystalandra surprised him by kissing him lightly on the lips; he pulled away blinking but then pulled her in for a longer more lingering kiss…They eventually broke apart; She smiled.

"Thank you for everything Tygra…I appreciate all that you have done for me especially teaching me how to skate, taking me tobogganing, and showing me a side of you that I never even knew existed…I understand now why Argo idolizes you."

The orange tiger's cheeks went red. "Uh…Crys…I'm sorry…I didn't mean for that to happen…"

"I'm not sorry at all…Really…I'm not…I've always wondered what it would be like to kiss you." She said with a grin. "Now I know…You have soft lips but don't worry this special moment is just between us friends and no one else need know—right?"

He nodded. "You are absolutely right." At that moment there was a bright green flash that shot across the sky.

"What was that?" Crys exclaimed; Tygra grinned. "That my dear was a shooting star and according to tradition we get to make a wish."

She tilted her head. "I don't understand…"

"Well let me see if I can explain…Sometimes with meteor showers you will see bolides, like the one we witnessed which are in actuality bright meteors with a long trail and end in an explosion." The scientist in him lectured. "Bolide is a Greek word meaning, 'thrown spear'."

"Uh huh and so?" Crys interrupted somewhat annoyed. "I don't really care about any of that just tell me what is the significance of seeing a shooting star?"

"Take it from me Crys when you wish on upon a shooting star your wishes will come true…It is generally seen as a good omen in general folklore."

She closed her eyes momentarily then opened them again smiling. "Okay done…Let's head back…" And stepping out of his embrace, Crys took the tiger's hand in hers and they walked back to the lodge.

"Aren't you going to remove your skates?" Tygra inquired looking down at the Sh'iar queen's feet.

She shook her head. "No…I don't want to spoil the mood." And as they drew closer to their lodgings, Crys heard Argo's mental call…

She let herself into the softly lit room and smiled seeing her husband sprawled naked on the floor in front of the fireplace surrounded by mounds of cushions and blankets he had dragged off the bed creating a sort of nest. Argo turned his head watching her as she sauntered over towards him, a vision of loveliness.

"You're home…"

"Yes…I heard your summons…" Crys replied wriggling out of her coat. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long…" Argo answered and extended his hand out to her. "Come curl up beside me babe, you must be freezing."

She went to him thinking that he wanted to be intimate but that wasn't the case. Once Crys was on the floor beside him, the Tiglon wrapped his muscular arms around the she-cat holding her; they lay on the blanket together. With his cheek next to hers, he began to hum a tune that was unfamiliar to her. Crys inclined her head to stare into her mate's pale powdery blue eyes which were reflecting the dancing flames of the blazing fire.

"What's that song you are humming?"

Argo smiled, "'The warm room…'"

"That's appropriate…Are there any words that go along with that haunting melody?"

"Of course but I warn you I don't carry a tune very well." But nevertheless, he sang the words for her in his deep alto voice:

**In the warm room  
She prepares to go to bed  
She'll let you watch her undress  
Go places where  
Your fingers long to linger**

In the warm room  
You'll fall into her like a pillow  
Her thighs are soft as marshmallows  
Say hello  
To the soft musk of her hollows

She'll tell you that she'll stay  
Ooh, so you'd better barricade the way out  
She'll tell you she's true  
She'll tell you she loves you  
She's waiting in that warm room

"That's a nice song." She commented nuzzling his cheek. "Who wrote it?"

"It was written by a human woman in the twentieth century by the name of Kate Bush." He said yawning. "When I first heard that song it reminded me of you…"

"That's amazing it seems both you and Tygra share a common interest in the old eras…"

"Well he did get me started." Argo yawned again. "Crys, you don't mind if we sleep like this…I'm pretty much whacked from today's activities…I don't think I can muster enough energy to make love to you…Perhaps after a good night's sleep…"

"No…I don't mind." Crys quietly replied; however, she could instinctively tell that the Tiglon's mind was preoccupied with something that had occurred and she suspected that it involved a certain red-haired tigress…"No…I don't mind at all." She repeated her mind made up to confront Rangerkitty in the morning.

"I love you…" He whispered kissing her tenderly on the cheek.

"I love you too Argo…" Crystalandra whispered back but Argo did not hear for he had fallen asleep and was snoring soundly.

Wrapped snugly in the protective embrace of his arms, the she-cat fretted as this would be the first time in their relationship that the Tiglon had made an excuse not to be passionate! She was lying when she informed him it was all right—it wasn't! And as she drifted off, the last thing she thought of were Tygra's lips so soft against hers…

Tygra smiled at the front desk hostess who informed him that his mate was indeed in and had checked back into their room about an hour ago. He nodded and walked past the decorated lobby and sitting room, which were even more ornate and splendid than before. There were piles of brightly wrapped gifts placed under the trees which were covered in ornaments and lights. He grinned, knowing that the next evening was the Winter Solstice, and he hoped that the selections he had made would please his friends and his mate.

His mate... He paused for a moment as he climbed the grand staircase and thought of her, waiting alone in their room. He'd gone off with Crys without even telling her, and then had spent a delightful and somewhat sinful time away from his betrothed. Feeling somewhat vexed over the past few hours, he continued his ascent and then walked down the hallway to their room.

He was about to open the door when it suddenly opened for him. He straightened and looked wordlessly at Rangerkitty who was standing on the open doorframe, framing it with herself. She held the sides of the doorway at both waist and shoulder level with each of her arms, creating a lovely silhouette for him. He inhaled at the sight of her as his stomach seemed to flip flop, like when one suddenly feels like they are falling. She was wearing only a thin ivory satin robe, and had combed her long striped hair so that fell softly upon her shoulders. She had several candles burning in the room, and he could tell that she'd set all this up for him.

"Well, hey mister... I was wondering when you would get back."

She was so beautiful, and he didn't move, except to feel his features soften at her sweet gesture. He stepped inside the room, closing the door behind them. "I'm sorry I was out late."

"You're here now, that's all that matters to me, tiger." She slipped her hands around his waist and kissed him gently. "I had dessert sent up to our room."

He eyed the cart that held a crystal bowl of strawberries, as well as an ice bucket that held a bottle of champagne from the outer realm of district 84 on New Thundera. They were known for their exceptional vintages. "You call that dessert?"

She blinked, surprised at his comment. She'd thought it would be a wonderfully romantic surprise. Slightly hurt, she decided to play the innocent yet sultry card. "Turns out those strawberries come with a free side of champagne at this lodge."

"Sweetheart, I'm very tired. The gesture is lovely, but perhaps we can save it for tomorrow. I'd just like to go to bed and hold you all night, okay?"

"Um, okay." She agreed still feeling confused. He'd never rejected a late night seduction like this before, especially as he loved strawberries. She walked over to the candles on the nightstands and extinguished them as he pulled his clothes off and slipped between the bed sheets. Glancing at the food and spirits, she figured they would be fine as they were both on ice, and she discarded her robe before she got into bed as well.

Once she was beside him, he pulled her close and hugged her close to him, so glad to smell the familiar scent of her hair and the feel of her fur touching his. He felt bad dismissing her romantic efforts, but felt preoccupied with what had transpired between himself and Crystalandra just a short time before. The feel of her silky hair, her soft skin and those lavender eyes... he'd been unable to think of anything since the kiss had happened. He squeezed his tigress more securely as he felt exhaustion overtake him, causing him to fall into a deep sleep.


	15. Chapter 16

4

Chapter Sixteen

When morning came, Crys snuck out of the room leaving Argo snoring peacefully on the floor. She descended the stairs into the main foyer and immediately spotted the tigress sitting by the window looking out and drinking a cup of coffee. Without any preamble, Crys approached RK, "You're not going to take Argo away from me."

Ranger frowned and glared defiantly back at the hybrid. "You're not getting your hooks into my tiger."

The she-cat's mouth almost dropped open, "What on Third Earth are you babbling on about? I don't want your tiger! You're after MY Tiglon and I won't stand for it!"

"No... You're trying to seduce and win Tygra away from me, well you've got another thing coming if you think I'll let that happen!"

Crys stared momentarily confused at RK-this feline had definitely flipped her wig! "Excuse me but it is YOU that is are using seductive tricks to take Argo away from me! I have seen the way you've been batting your eyes and sending him signals. You can't fool me tigress-you want him!"

Rangerkitty looked around and then back at her. "Don't try and change the subject. I've been quiet until now but not anymore. Secret sleigh rides, couples ice skating at twilight, he's even pulling your chair out for you. You wouldn't even go sledding unless you had him holding you and teaching you how!"

Crys rolled her eyes. "Oh please…I have no interest whatsoever in Tygra...He's been nothing but a gentleman to me; I appreciate the attention he has been showering me with since Argo has developed a preference for your company over mine." The she-cat stepped closer to RK. "You two seem more than chummy...always in close proximity to one another...I've seen how he looks at you."

Ranger placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe he's just glad to have my friendship since you seem to be acting like the ice queen, always being so flippant and frosty with those eyes of yours. I care for him, but I'm not trying to steal him-if you lose him that's all on you."

Crys glared down at the tigress. "You have a piece of cheek to tell me that! I am a Sh'iar warrior and we women are not soft like you Thunderians. Therefore, if I come across as being frosty I make no apologies for my behaviour—that is how I am. I would suggest, if you care for Argo then for your sake, keep away from him-he's mine!"

"Sure, Crys. Whisk him away back to your planet , away from everyone, and oh, why not keep him under lock and key while you're at it? He's with you because he wants to be. And no-I won't stay away because I love him too!"

She paused as both women gasped at what RK had just blurted out.

"You what?!" The she-cat choked. "You love him?!"

"Rangerkitty sighed heavily and looked away, "You are right about that. I do love him, but as a friend, much like an older brother. I flirt back as it's playful, but I would never dream of trying to steal another woman's mate, nor would I want to. I love Tygra and have promised to marry him, and it is he I want as my mate."

Crystalandra didn't know what to say-she was still trying to digest RK's admission. After a long uncomfortable pause, Crys sighed finally seeing truth to the tigress' words. Rangerkitty wasn't trying to steal Argo away, their relationship was purely innocent. "I admit I am perhaps a bit too insecure when it comes to Argo...I know he's a desirable male-sometimes I wonder if he isn't bored with me...I see how he is with you and it just had me worried."

"I don't know how anyone could become bored of you Crys. You intimidate the rest of us with your desirability. Galina was going out of her mind seeing the way Bengali found you so attractive, and well, even Tygra seemed smitten. You are an exotic beauty... all I have are... stripes."

"Please…Don't put yourself down Ranger...The funny thing is I am envious of you...It's amazing to see how everyone is always at ease around you." Crys shrugged. "I just feel out of place being surrounded by tigers."

Rangerkitty looked back at the Sh'iar, surprised. "You're envious of me? Well, that's one I haven't heard before. Besides, you never should feel out of place, we tigers are a great bunch, and heck... soon to be family."

"I think I understand why Argo relates better to tigers than lions—tigers are more accepting; lions are just generally stuck up."

The tigress chuckled "I'm relieved you aren't after Tygra. Argo models himself after him. Apparently he was quite a role model for him growing up."

"That's what Tygra had been telling me...Did you know that Argo learned his flirtatious behaviour from your tiger? But understand Ranger I would never-could NEVER steal Tygra from you...He's a wonderful bloke but not really my type."

"That's a relief. But Crys, you must be mistaken. Tygra is not flirtatious. Argo must have gotten that from somewhere else."

"Uh no...Tygra admitted to me that when he was younger he was the quite the ladies' man...Argo would carefully watch everything that Tygra did and vowed he would be exactly like his cousin when he was older." The she-cat grinned then covered her mouth. "Oh maybe I wasn't supposed to tell you."

As if on cue, Tygra stepped into the dining room at that moment and stopped short in place when he saw Rangerkitty and Crystalandra speaking together. He caught his breath as seeing the two of them standing a mere few feet from each other and wondered if he'd just walked in on something very bad. Rangerkitty looked at him silently and folded her arms across her chest.

"Ladies' man, hmm?"

He felt his mouth go dry. "What?"

"Anything else you've been keeping from me?" she asked as she walked past him and into the lobby where she disappeared from their sights and headed for the washroom. She wanted to check her reflection to be sure her eyes weren't red with the tears of relief she felt welling up inside them.

Tygra watched her go and then hurried up to Crystalandra who was grinning at him. "What was that all about? What did you tell her?!"

Crys raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "What you told me to clear the air with her, and that's exactly what I was doing. I think she and I see eye to eye now."

"Did you tell her about last night?"

"Certainly not! I simply commented on her statement that Argo looks up to you, which is a funny choice of words considering he is much taller." She grinned. When the tiger merely stared back at her, she threw up her hands in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, and just your comment about how you were the lady's man when you were younger. That's all! Calm down!"

He sighed and shook his head, then turned and walked to the side table to pour himself a hot cup of tea. As he did, Bengali and Galina wandered in with happy smiles on their faces. Galina, feeling ever energetic, grinned as she looked at the two of them. "So? Did we miss anything exiting?"

"NO!" they chorused together, surprising all those present.

"Yikes. Sorry I asked." She whispered to Bengali who nodded in agreement.

After quickly washing her face in cold water and patting it dry with a guest towel, Rangerkitty left the washroom and was surprised to come face to face with Argo as he had just reached the bottom of the staircase. He grinned when he saw her.

"Well, good morning."

"Good morning. I just had it out with Crystalandra... well; she had it out with me."

"Huh?"

"Said she suspected I was trying to steal you away from her."

He scratched the side of his head. "Oooo-kay... and what did you tell her?"

"Several things, but I also told her that I loved you."

That got the Tiglon's attention. He paused, not knowing what to say, and then replied in an almost inaudible whisper. "You... what?"

She looked around realizing that this was not really the time or the place for this conversation. "Argo, maybe we can talk about this later, privately. There are too many ears around us right now." With that, she walked past him and into the dining room, happy to see their other friends had joined them early this morning.

Argo remained standing in place at the bottom of the staircase, thoroughly confused. _Oh crap…_He thought pasting a smile on his face as he wandered over to join the group. _This is a sticky wicket of a situation I've gotten myself into!_


	16. Chapter 17

5

Chapter Seventeen

Their gracious host and proprietor of the lodge entered the dining hall where the ThunderCats sat chatting and eating breakfast. He coughed politely getting their attention,

"I am so sorry to disturb your repast but I was hoping that I could persuade some of you to help us in the preparation for the Winter Solstice celebration that we will be holding later today."

Tygra beamed. "We would be honoured to lend our assistance since you have been most gracious to us…What do you need help with?"

He hesitated. "Well, we need help in the kitchen baking the ginger bread cookies…"

Argo's arm immediately shot upwards. "My mate and I would be happy to assist with that."

Crys shot the Tiglon a horrified look. "Argo!" _I don't know a thing about baking and neither do you!_

_Well Marozi I guess it's about time we learned to channel our domestic side…_He sent; she sagged in her chair obviously not pleased.

The proprietor clasped his hands together. "Thank you kindly Lord Argo and Lady Crystalandra that is simply wonderful! We also require someone to gather chestnuts in the local forest…"

Rangerkitty grinned. "Tygra and I will take care of that for you."

Their host smiled. "Wonderful!" He exclaimed. "And finally we just need firewood and pinecones for the celebration."

"We volunteer for that!" Galina exclaimed winking at Ben. "It will be fun!"

"I again thank you all for offering your assistance and please do not forget to place your gifts under the tree." He reminded the group and departed.

Argo hurriedly wolfed down the rest of his food, pushed his chair back, and grabbed Crys' hand not allowing her to finish her meal; the others laughed at his eagerness to begin the baking assignment.

"Wait a minute—wait a minute!" The she-cat protested popping the last morsel of French toast into her mouth. "What is the rush?"

"I would imagine Argo is anxious to show you his domestic side." Tygra joked making the others laugh.

"Ha…ha…ha…" The Tiglon replied pulling his mate along with him. "This Marozi will be lots of fun!"

"As I said before Argo I don't know a thing about baking!" She protested sullenly. "I don't understand why you had to volunteer us for this menial task."

"Think about it babe…Wouldn't you rather be in a nice toasty warm kitchen rather than outside in the frigidly cold snow?"

Crys didn't need long to think about that. "I rather be in the warmth with you my love…"

"Excellent!"

The Sh'iars entered the kitchen where the head chef stood waiting for the couple; she gestured towards a huge vat of cookie dough that had been pre-mixed for them.

"That is the gingerbread cookie dough over there…All you have to do is place flour on the board to roll it out, cut out shapes, and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for twenty-five minutes. Once the cookies have cooled on the baking rack, all you need do is decorate them with the white frosting I have placed in the large refrigerator." She smiled. "It is all rather straight forward…Do you have any questions?"

The Tiglon shook his head. "Nope…none at all…My wife and I should be able to handle that—sounds easy enough."

"Fabulous!" The chef sighed. "If you should run into any problems just call me on the intercom."

"You won't be here in the kitchen with us?" Crys inquired.

"Oh goodness no…I will be elsewhere working on tonight's main course in our secondary kitchen…You will need this place for the three hundred cookies you'll be baking. Thank you so much for volunteering you don't know how grateful I am for the help!" And with that the chef scuttled off leaving Crys and Argo alone.

"Three hundred cookies!" She wailed. "We'll be here practically all day!"

Argo lifted Crys up placing her to sit on the counter. "…And what's wrong with that…It only means I will have you all to myself and not have to worry about sharing you with anyone."

This made the she-cat giggle. "You're silly…"

"No sillier than you…" He replied dipping a finger into the cookie dough and placing it on the tip of her nose. Leaning forward he licked it off growling softly followed by a long hot searing kiss; Crys wrapped her legs around the Tiglon's trim waist locking him to her. Argo's kiss was the only thing that could send the Sh'iar warrior into orbit…She sank her claws into his multi-coloured mane intertwining her fingers through his thick wavy curls—the Tiglon hadn't bothered to spike it. He was panting rather heavily when he reluctantly pulled away. "Gods Crys…If it weren't in the middle of the day and in a public kitchen…I'd take you right here and now…Baby you are making my blood boil…"

"That has never stopped you before…" The she-cat purred nipping playfully at her mate's neck. "Remember the restroom aboard the shuttle?"

"Oh yeah…Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about that…It's ingrained quite vividly in my memory."

"But I suppose you're right…You'll have to save it for later when we are alone in our room." However, Crys made no attempt to release Argo from her grip. "You're not tired of me are you?"

He blinked rather surprised to hear her say this. "Marozi, I could never grow tired of you…you're like a drug that I can't seem to get enough of! What brought this on? I'm more worried that I am not satisfying you."

"What? Really?" She giggled watching him; his pale eyes twinkled and in them she saw the burning love, the desire that he held for her and her alone. "Oh Argo…I do so love you with all my heart!"

"I love you too!" He said giving her a final smooch then glanced around at the dough. "I guess we had better get to work since three hundred cookies are not going to bake themselves!"

"Absolutely!" Crys released her mate and hopped down from the counter. "What would you like me to do?"

"Well you can start off by showing me YOUR domestic side—dip out some of that cookie dough and put some backbone into it while you roll it out like a good wife." Argo said rather offhandedly; he took a spoon to the cookie dough and began eating it. "Hey this is really good!"

"Oh you!" The she-cat grabbed a fistful of flour and tossed it at the Tiglon; he in turn picked up some flour and also threw it. Quite soon the pair was covered in flour from head to toe and the kitchen was a disaster area with dough smeared all over the place!

**Chapter Twenty-three**

Bengali took his lady's hand and guided her to their room where they dressed in comfortable clothes, boots and thick gloves. Pinecones were a great idea. They would snap and crackle and make small explosions in the fire that made it burn brighter and a lot for fun to watch and enjoy. As Galina finished dressing in their room, she turned to see Bengali staring and smiling at her. She smiled back with her pearly white smile and batted her eyelashes. "See something you like?"

"You know I do." He grinned as he approached her, leaning in to nibble on her earlobe. "You were incredible last night."

She giggled at the sensation of his kiss and hugged him around the neck. "I'm incredible every night!"

He smiled back at his sapphire eyed beauty. "You are, but last night was particularly special."

"Aww, thanks Ben. I wonder how Rangerkitty made out with her surprise."

"Surprise?" he asked as he opened the door and held it for her as she walked through into the hallway. "What surprise?"

She led him towards the staircase and started down it as he followed her. "Oh, she got in before him and wanted to do something nice so surprised him with candles, champagne and strawberries."

"That's nice." He replied. "I didn't get any strawberries..."

She turned on the staircase as she held the banister and smirked at him. "Would you have preferred strawberries last night?"

Realizing that he wouldn't have changed anything for the world, he shook his head and gave her a tiny push. "Okay, you got me. Let's get started on this quest for fire."

The two white tigers exited the lodge and found a pair of axes in the tool shed. They placed them into a couple of sleds that they pulled behind them. Galina also found a large burlap bag that would be perfect to carry the pinecones back in. She slung it over her shoulder as they headed for the nearby forest. Very soon they came by sections of trees that appeared to be dead. They knew that these would be much easier to chop as they were already dried out, and would be beneficial to clear out of the forest. Bengali picked up his axe and began chopping the base of the tree. Taking turns with Galina as they swung their tools so that the cuts were equal and so they did not tire as quickly. Finally, the tree looked unsteady enough, so she went around to the other side and pushed hard.

"TIMBER!" he called as the old oak came crashing to the ground.

She made a motion as if dusting off her hands and he grinned. By Thundera, she was so strong. He retrieved his axe and together they cut several large pieces that they split into smaller logs that were of suitable size for the indoor hearths. Bengali was starting to feel the muscles in his shoulders, back and upper arms spasming. He looked at the collection of logs they had so far and announced it was time for a break.

"I'm fine!" Galina called from the other side of the downed tree. "Why don't you collect some smaller branches for kindling while I finish up here? Then we can go look for pinecones!"

"All right!" he called and did just that, pulling one of the sleds behind him. After another 15 minutes, he returned to the site with a sled-full of sticks and looked around confused. He was sure this is where he'd left her. Suddenly he saw her by the sled and by the pile of wood she'd piled in it, he realized that she'd cut up the entire tree by herself. "Galina! Seriously?"

She had been examining her nails when she looked up at him with an innocent face. "What?" Glancing at the woodpile behind her, she waved it off. "Oh, that. We should have brought a horse with us. It's too much to pull by ourselves so I made a woodpile they can come back to if they need to re-stock."

He walked up to her and looked in awe at the work she'd done. He shook his head with both disbelief and amazement. She had so much strength for a seemingly normal sized tigress. "You know, I take equal credit in this." He informed her as she smiled and retrieved the rope that pulled the sled.

"Yep. Fifty-fifty, all the way. Did you find any pinecones?"

"Yeah. There's a whole bunch back this way." He led her to the pine trees and she was pleased to see ones that were open as opposed to the greener newer ones. "The older and bigger, the better."

They collected them together quietly and once the bag was full, they tied it at the opening and placed it on the sled with the smaller branches, which he pulled as Galina seemed better able to handle the heavier sled with the logs. They joked and chatted on their way back, and when the lodge owner spotted them from a distance, he waved and they waved back. He was amazed at the amount of lumber they'd collected, and was thoroughly pleased when they informed him of the woodpile at the border of the forest.

"Wonderful, wonderful! And you are done so quickly! Your other friends are still out."

Bengali leaned backwards, stretching out his muscles. "Next time, we should take chainsaws. That was pretty backbreaking work."

Galina walked behind him massaging his shoulders. "Then I have the perfect remedy. Come on."


	17. Chapter 18

5

Chapter Eighteen

Tygra steered the snowmobile in the direction that the lodge owner had instructed them. It wasn't that the chestnut trees were far away, but the snowmobile ride certainly did cut down on the travel time, especially in the fresh snow. Rangerkitty held his waist as he veered the vehicle up to the grove of trees and shut it down. They climbed off and adjusted their gloves and scarves as they walked underneath the trees.

"Wow. They have such big branches!" she breathed in disbelief. She had never seen chestnut trees before. "These would make for some really fun climbing!"

"I agree although they are likely quite slippery from the ice and snow." Tygra drew his bolo whip, cracked it in the air, and lassoed a lower hanging branch pulling it close to arm's length, where Rangerkitty hurried forward and began pulling the green spiky round nuts off. When that branch was cleaned off, Tygra loosened his whip and the branch flew back up, tossing all the snow on its leaves into the air, dousing them both in a cold shower of ice crystals. She giggled and held her gloved hands out as she was dusted in the white powder, causing the tiger to smile. He approached her and took her face in his hands.

"You are so beautiful." And with that, he kissed her.

She kissed him back, and felt that intense rush of desire flood though her as she did. She dropped the bag of nuts to the snow covered earth and held his shoulders, kissing the man she truly loved. When she pulled away, she took his hands in hers and held them. "I'm so glad we have this... you and me time today. I was starting to feel a little left out."

"Left out? We've been together practically the whole time we've been here."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Tygra, you've been spending most of your time with Crystalandra. I'm glad you two are friends now, but I was starting to miss you."

"Oh my love…" He pulled her close to embrace her and held her head against his chest as he stroked her hair. "Forgive me. I was trying to make her happy and was actually having fun with her at the same time. This weekend could have turned out to be a complete disaster, and I just couldn't have that. I'm sorry for making you feel neglected."

"It's okay." She smiled, hugging him back, glad to be in his arms. "You know, call me crazy, but I was starting to feel kind of jealous, thinking maybe, well, never mind."

He released her slightly and gently lifted her chin with his hand. "You were thinking what?"

She blushed. "I was thinking maybe you were growing attracted to her, and how I couldn't compete with someone so powerful, so exotic, a queen even..."

He knelt before her, still holding her hands. "You never have to doubt my feelings for you, Ranger. A million beautiful women could walk by, but you're the one whose hand I'll be holding. You're the one that has captured my heart. No weekend of ice skating and sledding will change that."

She fell to her knees in the snow and embraced him back as well. "I love you Tygra."

"Love you too." He stayed that way a few moments more, then stood and helped her to her feet. He snared a few more branches, and when the bag had been filled, they loaded it back upon the snowmobile and started back to the lodge, but at a much slower speed, just enjoying the view and each other's company.

As they got closer to the resort, Rangerkitty slipped one hand into the bag and pulled out the green fuzzy spiky things they had spent their time collecting. It really did not resemble any kind of nut she had ever seen before. Tygra looked to the side and saw her examining the nut. "It's in a protective outer shell. We'll cut them open back at the lodge then later tonight we roast them over the fire. They're really good once they're cooked."

"Ooooohhhhh."

Once they arrived, he pulled the vehicle around to the side under the covered open area where all the snowmobiles were parked. They dismounted and made to go into the kitchen when suddenly they saw Galina and Bengali heading out backwards. They stopped as the two white tigers backed up into them and jumped, not expecting for anyone to be standing there.

"Should we ask?" Rangerkitty inquired, looking at her friends.

They glanced at one another and had to suppress nervous giggles. "I'd steer clear of the kitchen for right now, if we were you." Galina tried to whisper.

Tygra rolled his eyes. He knew what that meant-Argo and Crystalandra. "Ok, we'll leave these here and go find something to do."

"We're gonna relax in the hot tubs. My back is sore from chopping wood." Bengali offered. "Want to join us?"

"Maybe later…" Rangerkitty smiled. She didn't really want to change her clothes into a swimsuit. Tygra nodded as well.

"We'll catch up to you later."

After the white tigers left, Ranger glanced over at Tygra. "What exactly could Crys and Argo been doing in the kitchen to drive Bengali and Gali away like that?"

"Seriously?" The tiger inquired raising an eyebrow as he took his tigress' hand. "Do you honestly want to know? I think you must suspect already what those two are up to…" He chuckled. "My cousin is a very frisky individual and I shall leave it at that. Come on—let's have some fun of our own in the snow."

With Crys and Argo working diligently in the kitchen, the couple managed to churn out more than one hundred and seventy-five gingerbread cookies. Having carefully followed the baking instructions provided by the head chef, the freshly baked treats were laid out on the counter to cool.

Crystalandra was especially savouring this time that she was spending alone with her husband and enjoying the attention he was showering upon her. The Tiglon was happily serenading her with his favourite songs from Third Earth's mysterious ancient past while they worked. It sure did help to pass the time; however, they still had one hundred and twenty-five cookies to cut, bake, and decorate.

When he finished she clapped her hands delightedly slopping the icing about on the workbench.

"That was marvellous Lee!" She exclaimed.

"Why thank you fair maiden." He replied taking a deep bow, "How about you? Surely you must have a favourite song that you have heard me play at home."

Crys nodded rather shyly. "Yes…one comes to mind…I can't exactly remember the title but when I heard it, it reminded me of you." And she began to sing which surprised Argo immensely as she had never done so before now. He was taken aback by the quality of her voice, she sounded quite angelic. He listened intently to the words:

…**Why do stars**

**Fall down from the sky**

**Every time you walk by**

**Just like me**

**They long to be**

**Close to you**

**On the day that you were born**

**The angels got together and decided**

**To create a dream come true**

**So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair**

**Of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue**

**That is why all the girls in town**

**Follow you all around**

**Just like me**

**They long to be**

**Close to you…**

Embarrassed by the Tiglon's silent scrutiny, Crys resumed the arduous work of decorating.

"The name of the song is 'Close to you" by a brother and sister duo called the Carpenters." He said regarding his wife as she meticulously piped the icing creating little swirls on the cookie surface. She looked quite adorable; her face was serious with her tongue sticking out as she concentrated on her task.

"Goddess, I am a lucky cat to have you." He finally whispered in awe; Crys glanced over at her mate grinning.

"Are you sure about that despite my bad temper?"

"I love your temper and the way in which you snarl is oh so…sexy. You're bold, outspoken, and fearless refusing to take any guff from anybody and that is what I admire most about you."

Crys laughed. "Is that all? Nothing else? In other words I am your typical Sh'iar female."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly go that far to say you are 'typical' since there is nothing typical about you. You complete me my spotted Leoponess…" He replied blowing her a kiss.

She straightened wiping a wisp of purple hair away from her face,

"You know Argo I must confess I was worried that you were…" The she-cat suddenly hesitated thinking that perhaps she shouldn't say anything further.

"I was what?" Argo persisted munching on a cookie; he waited expectantly for her to continue.

"Okay…I thought you were going after Rangerkitty because of the way you were flirting and always hanging around her."

The Tiglon's expression became serious. "Crys…I see RK as nothing more than a pal, a little sister. I know at times I tend to go overboard with the flirting…I am truly sorry if I make you uncomfortable since that is not my intention. I tell you what; because you mean the world to me I will stop my flirtatious behaviour."

"Please…don't do that…" Crys begged. "I couldn't ask you to…I understand it is part of your personality, it is who you are. If you stop you'll wind up being boring and stuffy like your cousin Tygra!" That last part she said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Well at least how he used to be."

"Hey!" Argo protested and picking up a bag of piping he squirted some of the frosting at Crystalandra. She squealed as it hit her on the cheek—in retaliation, the she-cat scooped up a glop of it and hurled it back at her mate. The icing made its mark on Argo messing up his black t-shirt that was already covered in flour and cookie dough.

"Crissy just look what you have done! You have practically ruined my shirt now I have no choice but to remove it!" He stated with mock anger in his voice. And with slow deliberation, he took off his shirt then made a show of flexing his well-sculpted muscles knowing how much it drove his wife mad with lust. It worked. Crys squeezed the piping bag she held in her hand making it literally explode as she watched him undress.

"Oh damn it Argo—now look what you have made me do! The icing is all over my sweater!" She glanced down at herself in dismay; he grinned, his eyes roved over the generous swell of her bosom. "Allow me then to lick it off…"

It was at this point Galina and Bengali had decided to make an impromptu visit to the kitchen to see if the Sh'iars needed help. As they had finished chopping the wood, the white tigers thought Crys and Argo would appreciate the extra pair of hands and currently Ben and Galina had nothing else planned.

Making their way towards the back door, Galina thought she would sneak a peek in through the window to perhaps catch a glimpse of what the couple had accomplished. However, she was unprepared by what she was presented with.

"Whoa!" Galina uttered in complete surprise almost stumbling; Ben caught her. "What's wrong? Gali? What did you mean by that?"

Seeing her stunned expression he pushed past her to have a look in through the window. "Whoa!" He exclaimed blushing. "Back away slowly hun…Nothing to see here…"

"Damn! Maybe we should have volunteered to do the baking instead! Who knew you could have so much fun with icing!"


	18. Chapter 19

5

Chapter Nineteen

Tygra grinned at Rangerkitty and grabbed her hand as he led her back outdoors. Luckily they had not taken off their winter clothes, scarves or gloves yet. He dashed ahead, pulling her behind him, giving her absolutely no idea what he was up to. It was the beauty of the love bind. She didn't care. She trusted him implicitly. As he ran, she smiled at his fervour and the beautiful winter scenery that surrounded them.

Once they rounded the inn, he stopped and gathered a couple handfuls of snow, then stood and mashed them into a ball. She gasped as he turned and propelled one directly at her. She fell to the ground as the snowball whizzed over her and landed in the soft crystals behind her. "Tygra!"

He laughed out loud and dashed forward as she struggled to get up and form a quick snowball of her own to toss back at him, smacking him directly in the face. She didn't even notice as he leaped forward to tackle her, and she shrieked at the impact of his body against hers. They fell back into the snow, wildly giggling and laughing aloud as they hugged and took turns trying to kiss and tickle the other.

From inside the kitchen, Argo overheard strange sounds emanating from just outside the window. He released Crystalandra whom he had left panting in sweet satisfaction upon a table surrounded by baking supplies and peered out the window. Seeing Tygra and Rangerkitty wrestling and rolling around in the snow struck a certain nerve inside him, pulling him out of the bliss that had him so preoccupied. The lavender haired Sh'iar noticed his sudden change and lifted her head, looking at him. "What's up?"

"They're having a fight..."

"What?" She slowly sat up; finding her footing, she stood on rather wobbly legs and joined him by the kitchen window and looked outside just in time to see Tygra fighting to shove snow down Rangerkitty's sweater. "Actually, they're not fighting."

"Aahhhh! They're having a snowball fight! Let's get in on this!" Argo said excitedly, reaching down to pull his pants back up.

"Liargo, we can't we still have four more sheets of cookies to finish... we, er, wasted a little time just before."

He was buckling his belt as he grinned at his mate. "That... was not wasted time. That was time incredibly well spent."

Crystalandra actually blushed as she touched her hair and looked at the mess they'd made in the kitchen. There were smudges of flour, icing, sprinkles and cookie dough all over the place. The table he'd laid her upon even had a recognizable outline of her body left upon it. She grabbed a dish towel and began wiping it down, hastily erasing the evidence.

Argo picked up the shirt Crys had managed to cover in icing and looked it over. "I'll need a new shirt. You ruined this one."

"Oh, you'll get over it!" She shot back, not bothering to glance over at him. The she-cat eyed the four cookie sheets that rested upon the other counter, still with the cut and decorated gingerbread men waiting to be baked. "Hey, I have an idea..." Crystalandra turned to look at Argo and almost fell over when she saw him trying on an apron.

"What?!"

With a straight face, he held his hands out. "What? No? Not my color?"

"Not with those frills!" The Sh'iar queen laughed, holding her sides as she was laughing so hard. Argo began laughing too and started juggling three eggs to see if that would impress her. Unfortunately he misjudged one throw and they each landed on the floor in a series of cracks and splatters, making her laugh harder. Crys found it necessary to hold the table for support as he sheepishly pulled the apron off and used it to start mopping them up.

Hurrying over to him, she touched his arm taking the sticky apron away from him. "Argo please…Go upstairs and get a new shirt. I'll clean up and put the last trays in the oven."

The Tiglon grinned, leaned in to kiss her and licked a smudge of icing off of her cheek. "Have I ever told you how sweet you taste?"

She groaned and pushed him toward the direction of the door. "Go! Hurry up!" He complied and left the kitchen, shirtless and magnificent. Crys rolled her eyes at his silly play on words and looked around the kitchen. Her eyes drifted to the oven and the knobs that controlled the heat and settings.

Outside, Rangerkitty had rolled on top of Tygra and had escaped his clutches. She dashed a few feet away and made another snowball to hurl when she was unexpectedly pelted from behind. A glance over her shoulder, the tigress was surprised to see Crystalandra standing there, grinning and making another snowball. She gasped as Tygra looked up and saw her as well.

"Reinforcements! All right!"

Ranger leapt for cover as both Tygra and Crystalandra began making and hurling balls of the fluffy snow at her. She hopped behind a woodpile and started making as many as she could to be ready for an attack when Argo came up behind her, making her jump in surprise.

"What? Sorry!"

"Argo, Tygra and Crys have teamed up against me. I'm trying to stockpile some ammunition for when they come back!"

Argo looked down at the pile of fist sized snowballs she'd made. Grinning and shaking his head, he leaned over and pinched her cheek gently. "My dear, you need to think bigger. Much bigger!"

He took one of the snowballs and began rolling it over the fresh snow, causing it to become much larger. First it was the size of a cannonball, then larger than his head. Rangerkitty smacked his arm. "Don't make it too big! The intent isn't to hurt anyone. It's just for fun!"

He made several, and Rangerkitty peered out through some cracks on the logs. Tygra and Crystalandra were approaching. Figuring they knew where she was, she quickly stood and opened fire, throwing snowballs at the both of them. One hit Tygra in the leg, and one hit Crystalandra in her shoulder. They both returned fire and Rangerkitty shrieked, diving back down behind the woodpile. Both snowballs exploded on the logs. She stood again and was hit square in the chest with one from the Sh'iar. _Wow, she's got good aim._ She realized. _But I have a secret weapon_.

She threw her last snowball at Tygra who watched as it whizzed past him. "However did you pass your trials with that kind of aim, babe?!"

"Get him!" Rangerkitty called out, and to Tygra and Crystalandra's surprise, Argo stood and lobbed a huge snowball at each one of them, using one arm for each. They were knocked back into the snow where they hastily made more snowballs to return fire. Everyone was laughing now, and Argo pelted Crystalandra with more as she giggled in hysterics. The snow was cold, but she didn't care. This was the perfect blend of things; she could pummel Rangerkitty with snowballs and have fun doing it!

She pushed Argo off of her and chased the tigress who yelped and ran around the building. Crystalandra was hot on her heels and scored a few more to her back as they ran. Rangerkitty saw a pine tree up ahead and jumped as she dashed underneath, grabbing the branch and quickly released it, dumping a large pile of snow directly onto the Leoponess. It was Crystalandra's turn to shriek as she was covered in the frozen crystals.

Rangerkitty turned and laughed as the Sh'iar dusted herself off and resumed her chase. "I'm going to get you for that RK!"

Rangerkitty hurried to the back of the building and saw Galina and Bengali in the outdoor hot tub, only they weren't just sitting in it, they were in a full embrace and a seriously deep kiss. She skidded to a halt as she gaped at them, forgetting her pursuer. Crystalandra leapt forward and tackled the tigress to the snowy ground, then straddled her and picked up two large handfuls of snow. "Let's see how you like it!"

Rangerkitty winced, expecting to be instantly covered in the cold. After a couple seconds, she opened her eyes and looked up, wondering what was happening. Crys had momentarily forgotten about her and was staring at Galina and Bengali, gaping at them.

Rangerkitty followed her gaze. "They know how to put on a show, don't they?"

Crys looked back down at Rangerkitty, and then at the snow she was holding. "I have a better idea." She said, tossing it aside and standing up. She offered an outreached hand to the tigress, who took it and allowed her to help her stand up. Crystalandra was smirking now, and Rangerkitty suddenly got the idea.

Together they made a few armfuls of snowballs and crept up behind the two white tigers who were completely distracted with one another. Eyes were closed and hands were roaming freely as the water churned and bubbled around them. Crystalandra whispered to her new ally. _"Ready?"_

"_Ready."_

They jumped up and shouted and began throwing snowballs directly at Bengali and Galina who were startled apart. Tygra and Argo, who had come around the other side of the building and had been watching this, laughed and ran over to join in. Snowballs began flying at the two tigers from all directions. Galina shrieked and Bengali splashed at them. "Hey! No fair! We have no ammo!"

"Serves you right, making out in the middle of the day, in a public place where people could see you!" Crys taunted them as she threw another one.

Bengali splashed at her and Galina rested her arms on the side of the tub and looked innocently at her. "And how did your cookie making experience go, hmmmm?"

Crys stopped suddenly and looked up in horror. "The COOKIES!"

She dashed into the building and ran to the kitchen where she could smell the unmistakable scent of food burning. Grabbing two oven mitts, she yanked the oven door open. Smoke billowed out and she coughed as she pulled out a baking sheet with blackened gingerbread men. She sighed at the sight of them and quickly tossed them into the trash, then unlatched the window opening it to let the air clear.

The baker entered the kitchen and took a look around. "What happened here?"

"Oh, I wanted to hurry the last batch, so I set the temperature a little higher, figuring they'd cook more quickly."

"How high did you set it?" he asked, peering at the charred cookies in the wastebasket.

"Five Hundred."

"Oh, heavens..."

Argo hurried in after her, glad to see that she had actually done a decent job of cleaning the flour and cake icing before she'd come outside. "Aww, what happened?"

Crys shot him a look as he longingly glanced at the burnt treats in the trash can. "Can't we just cover them with icing?"

The baker reached up putting a consoling hand on the large Tiglon's shoulder. "I'm sorry, my lord. I'm afraid they're done for."

Argo nodded. "What a shame…and such a terrible waste of all those cookies."

"I'm truly sorry…" Crys apologized. "I didn't expect that this would have happened…I thought by cranking up the temperature setting…" She shrugged. "Well, I guess I've learned my lesson—I'm definitely not the domestic type. But I do feel badly about ruining these cookies…I wish there was something we could do to help you for what we have done."

"That's all right m'lady…" The chef replied wistfully. "My staff can whip something up on short notice."

"You will do no such thing." The Tiglon said with sudden determination in his voice, "Would you excuse us a moment Chef?"

Argo took Crys' hand and pulled her aside. "Marozi, there IS something we can do to help."

"Oh Lee I hope you're not going to suggest that we bake more gingerbread men! I'm sorry love but my domestic stint is definitely over."

He chuckled, leaned down, and kissed her on her spotted forehead. "I'm not going to ask you EVER to do that again…Listen, I've been wondering what to give the staff as a token of our gratitude for all they have done for us. Let's contact the home world and get our Tymperian chefs to whip up a special treat for them."

The she-cat clapped her hands delightedly, "Oh Lazhu that is a brilliant idea! Yes—absolutely let's do it!"

The Tiglon couldn't help but blush a deep crimson upon Crys' use of his pet name in public. _Easy there my queen that is for the privacy of our bedroom…_

_Oops sorry…_She grinned. "Come on let's hop to it; we've got a lot of arrangements to make if we want this done before tonight's dinner celebration."

The Sh'iars raced out of the kitchen leaving a bewildered chef behind…


	19. Chapter 20

3

Chapter Twenty

Before they knew it, the celebration was in full swing. Aromas from the kitchens wafted into the hallways and sitting areas, invoking desire and causing people to look around, hoping for hors d'oeuvres.

They were not disappointed. Music suddenly filled the air as the band began to play, and in a matter of moments, the entire lodge was alive with excitement, happiness and celebration. The band was comprised of a local group that had performed at the lodge many a time. Never had they done so with such acclaimed guests, and had been given instructions that it should be quite formal.

Bengali wandered downstairs to place his gifts under the various trees. As he was placing the ones for Ranger and Tygra he felt hands upon his backside. Hoping it was Galina and not the brunette waitress that had been giving him suggestive looks over the last day and a half, he looked over his shoulder and was pleased to see his girl behind him.

"Wassap shugah?"

"Gali, you better be careful, or I'll carry you upstairs and we'll miss the party."

"Mmmm, a risk I'm willing to take." She grinded her hips against him as he tried to carefully arrange the presents on top of each other.

"Gali...please...do you mind?" Ben chuckled then straightened once he was finished and gave a long whistle as he regarded the tigress. "Damn babe, you look good enough to eat!"

"Oh, and I am certainly... _on the menu_." She leaned in and kissed him.

He kissed her back and raised a hand passing it through her white curls. "You are incredibly beautiful..." He sighed happily. "I'm truly glad that we came on this trip...Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes, I'd enjoy it much more if you took me upstairs and..."

They were interrupted by Tygra and Rangerkitty who suddenly appeared at the base of the stairs. Bengali already had Galina in his arms and they could both sense their friend's intensions.

Rangerkitty sighed. "Guys, I get it, but can you hold out a bit? This is a tradition and we are a part of it. Can you hang on for another half hour?"

Galina scowled and Bengali grinned. "Sure Ranger."

Galina grumbled. "No fair."

Bengali caressed the white tigress' face_. Surely you can hold out for half an hour or so can't you? Afterwards you'll have me all to yourself._ He sent. Aloud to RK he grinned. "No problem Ranger...I think we can do that."

"I'll try. But if you see me checking out anyone else, know it's an invitation to jump me."

Bengali took a deep breath. "I'll register that."

The Sh'iars appeared and descended the staircase; all eyes were focused on the handsome couple: Argo bedecked in black and white while his wife was dressed befitting that of a queen. Bengali gulped at the sight of Crystalandra's outfit. It was a colourful all- in-one pantsuit except it was missing material in strategic areas namely the chest and sides. He couldn't help but wonder how the hybrid was able to keep the outfit from falling from her body!

Crys wandered by the white tiger and smiled provocatively, seeing how nervous she had made him.

_"Double sticky tape." _She whispered sweeping a graceful hand through her mistletoed adorned mane.

"W-what?!" He stuttered not sure he heard correctly. The she-cat merely grinned, "Hey Galina, I love your outfit...How come you've covered up your belly button? That's not like you."

"I can't compete with this!" Galina exclaimed as she observed the Sh'iar queen in the center of the room. She turned to leave when Rangerkitty grabbed her by the arm.

"And by the way, yes you can." She led Galina to a white tree that was lit with blinking lights. She indicated to a package underneath.

"What is that? What are you showing me?" The white tigress muttered.

"This is for you, from me. You are my best friend, and I wanted to give you something special."

"What is it?

"Open it!"

Galina did, and as it became apparent, she squealed in delight! "Where did you find this?"

"Tygra did, and he showed it to me, and I freaked out and Bengali helped me craft it."

Galina was stunned and speechless as she pulled the silver chain from its box. Dangling at the base was a sapphire crystal that had been cut into sharp and long facets. She dangled it in the air to watch the light play in its angles, and then looked at her best friend.

"It's so beautiful, and so are you."

"Tease."

Galina leaned in and gave Rangerkitty a short but sweet kiss on the mouth. They smiled at each other then looked at their friends to see Tygra, Argo and Bengali, all who seemed to be panting and watching with desire.

Galina winked and shrugged a shoulder in a provocative way as RK blushed and touched her lips with her hand. She reached around Galina and fastened the jewel around her neck and let it rest upon her chest. "It matches your eyes."

"Well, then you need to open my gift too."


	20. Chapter 21

4

Chapter Twenty-one

Argo had a difficult time tearing his eyes away from the tigresses when the sound of laughter, Crys' laughter, to be exact, reached his ears. He turned—his smile quickly became a scowl at the sight of his wife who was being surrounded by the male staff. While some were clamouring for a chance to sneak a quick kiss from the ravishing she-cat due to the fact she had mistletoe laced throughout her long mane, others were waiting in the wings to offer Crys treats from their plates. The Tymperian chefs had delivered a scrumptious, mouth watering array of delicacies for the lodge along with personalized treats for everyone present…

The Tiglon rushed over and taking hold of his wife's elbow he steered her away from the group. "Hey I was having fun!" She protested, "What's wrong with you?"

"Crystalandra," He whispered not wanting to make a scene. "Why don't you come with me…I want to give you your present."

Her lavender eyes sparkled merrily, "You got me a gift?" Crys kissed the corner of his mouth. "You didn't have to Lee; I really wasn't expecting anything from you."

"Liar…You would have skinned me alive if I didn't…" Argo replied laughing; he guided her to a beautiful multi-coloured tree with gold-star ornaments.

"Your present is there…The small purple one wrapped with the blue bow."

She bent to retrieve it from under the tree; the Tiglon decided it would be better if he did since he was concerned that no matter how much double-sided sticky tape she used on her garment, her ample breasts might pop out (and he definitely did not want that to happen—especially not here). "Here my queen…Allow me to fetch it for you." Argo said with great flourish.

He squatted giving the females in the room watching a generous view of his nicely rounded derriere. Straightening, Argo handed the dainty package over to his mate, "Happy Winter Solstice!"

Crys eagerly ripped open the gift all the while wondering what the Tiglon could have possibly given her; she gave a loud gasp of surprise when she saw what was inside…It was a crystal snow angel pendant with an amethyst stone. The she-cat sucked in her breath, "Oh Lee…It is beautiful!"

"You are my snow angel and to me it signifies my undying love for you…If you notice, it is in two pieces."

"Really?" Crys asked taking it out and examining it.

"Here…" Argo took the pendant from his wife showing her. "This part of the halo which houses the stone separates becoming a ring…" He slipped it onto the finger of her left hand. "So you can wear it either way as a necklace or a ring…"

"Thank you Lazhu…I love it!" She whispered kissing him lustily; Crys pulled away grinning. "I have something for you as well."

"You do? Now I wonder what it could be?"

Crys' smile grew broader. "I had a devil of time figuring out what to get you then it dawned on me…It's in an envelope under the tree…You can't miss it…Look for a deep blue coloured envelope."

Intrigued, Argo immediately spied it and pulled it out. "I wasn't expecting anything from you…"

"Well, now we are even…Go ahead…Open it!"

He shook the envelope hearing a rattling noise from within. "Cute—What is it a noise maker?"

"Just open it!" Crys exclaimed feeling her frustration mounting as her mate tossed his unopened gift playfully from hand to hand.

Laughing, Argo finally ripped the envelope open and a set of keys fell out onto his palm, he raised a questioning eyebrow, "What's this?"

The she-cat took a deep breath. "I have spoken to the proprietor and have made arrangements for us to spend our vacations here at the lodge…I've seen how much you enjoy snowboarding and the different snow activities…Well, the least I could do was to give you the opportunity to have more fun in the snow."

"But Marozi…You _hate_ the snow."

"I _dislike_ the snow Argo; however, isn't the whole idea of the Winter Solstice, according to Galina, a time for doing good deeds? Well…This is my good deed to you. Do you like my gift?"

Argo swooped Crys into his embrace hugging her tightly. "I love it and I love you dearly—thank you. Since we have exchanged gifts, there is only one more thing to do…"

"What would that be?"

Instead of answering, the Tiglon began to meticulously remove the mistletoe from her mane.

"Argo! What are you doing? Do you know how long it took me to weave those into my hair?!" Crys tried to escape but he had a good hold on her.

"Crystalandra, this nonsense has gone on long enough…Don't you think I know what you are up to?" He said rather sternly.

"What are you talking about?" She asked feigning innocence. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Marozi, this is your ingenious attempt at making me jealous…Your way of getting back at me for everything that has happened on our holiday. Don't you deny it since I am very well aware of how that devious Sh'iar mind of yours works." Finishing, Argo tucked the discarded mistletoe in his jacket pocket. "There you are…all done."

Crys glanced up at her mate, "Okay…Okay…I admit it…I'm sorry…I-I just couldn't help myself."

He nodded, "Marozi you are a minx…Listen, this has been nothing but a roller coaster of a weekend with jealousies running rampant between partners; there is just no need for this to continue." The Tiglon sighed, "Do you think that just once we can at least enjoy this one special day without any further drama?"

"Of course!" The Sh'iar queen replied. "But I can't vouch for the others."

"I don't want you vouching for the others, I am only concerned about you. " Argo cupped her chin tilting her head upwards towards him. "As I have told you before Crys, you needn't worry—you have me for life…" And he planted a kiss on her spotted forehead. "Now let's go eat—I'm starving!"

She laughed, "Lee, you were born with a stomach that is nothing but a bottomless pit! We can't eat just yet since the food hasn't been laid out!"

He groaned, "I'll starve before they get this party started!"

"You'll live!" Crys giggled. "Come on lets dance until then!"

Galina got down on all fours, hoping to strategically give the tigers and Tiglon a good view of her posterior as she searched under the tree for where Bengali had arranged all the gifts. "Ah! Here it is!"

She pulled out a cylindrical parcel that was adorned with a ridiculous number of ribbons and bows. She beamed at it for a moment, pleased with her wrapping job and handed it up to her friend as she sat back on her legs in a kneeling-sitting position. Rangerkitty accepted it from her and took a moment to appreciate the insanity and love that had gone into decorating this gift.

She carefully pulled the decorations off and found that one end of the cylinder could be opened. Pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment paper, she was confused seeing nothing else inside. Holding it carefully, she unrolled it and gasped out loud when she viewed what was upon it. Tygra overheard this and walked over to join her. As he viewed the paper, his face also registered surprise.

It was a painting, but not of scenery or some impressionist array of color, but a portrait of Rangerkitty and Tygra, holding one another with love in their eyes that came so poignantly across in the way they had been recreated on the canvas. They were without clothing and with Rangerkitty's hair covering her so that it was in no way distasteful. It was like the moments after mating, when a couple truly feels no fear, no barriers, only adoration and love.

"Galina... this is..." Tygra began, looking for the right words.

"Beautiful." Rangerkitty finished, tears coating her eyes. "This is so beautiful."

The white tigress was pleased. "Well, so are you two. You're very welcome. Oh, and just as an FYI, I created this on my own. Totally wasn't hiding in the closet of your room or anything."

She winked at them both and wandered away to show Bengali her new necklace as they both looked back at the painting. Rangerkitty marvelled at it. She'd had no idea that her friend was so talented. It was an intimate portrait, but even a more intimate gift, obviously made from love. She looked up at Tygra who was studying Galina from where she now stood at the other end of the room.

"What are you thinking, Ty?"

"I'm wondering if she really meant what she said."

"What do you mean?"

"About not hiding in the closet…This picture is pretty close to the real thing."

Rangerkitty giggled and rolled the paper back up before re-inserting it into the protective cylinder. Whether she did or not, I adore this gift. We'll have to frame it properly when we get back home and find a place to put it that's not in full view of everyone else at the lair."

At that moment, the lodge owner arrived downstairs and announced a warm greeting to all the staff as well as to his own family and the guests. "Please everyone! Happy Winter solstice! Please give your gifts, enjoy the fine food and music! Thank you all for making this one of the best and most memorable mid-winter celebrations we have ever had!"

The crowd clapped and applauded the man who had organized the festivities and the band started back up into celebratory holiday music again.


End file.
